CM Magazine: Boldly Canadian, The Story of the RCMP.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 7 . . . . December 1, 2000

Boldly Canadian, The Story of the RCMP.

Joann Hamilton-Barry. Illustrated by Frances Clancy.
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1999.
64 pp., pbk. & cl., $10.95 (pbk.), $18.95 (cl.)
ISBN 1-55074-520-4 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55074-518-2 (cl.)

Subject Heading:
Royal Candian Mounted Police-Juvenile literature.

Grades 4 - 6 / Ages 9 - 11.

Review by Joan C. Simpson.

*** /4

excerpt:

FUNNY MONEY
Can you spot fake money? Find one of the tiny green dots on any bill and carefully try to scratch it off. If you've got funny money, you'll rip the paper: As well, some of the print on real money has raised lettering, while on fake money it doesn't.
The RCMP operates the Central Bureau for Counterfeits to track down counterfeit materials. The officers there identify counterfeit money and documents, such as passports, airline tickets and credit cards. They also tell other Canadian police about counterfeit scams, collect data on counterfeit money and the equipment used to make it, and work with Interpol and the U. S. Secret Service. As well, these Mounties educate other Canadian police forces about counterfeit money and train people in banks and business.

Boldly Canadian provides extensive but not comprehensive coverage of the RCMP. Just about everything related to the force is covered in 63 pages - history, uniform, police dogs and horses, training, assignments, Musical Ride, use of technology, famous Mounties and qualification requirements- but none of the topics is covered in depth. (For in-depth information relating to history consult the Canadian Encyclopedia.) The information is made accessible through an index. The author, the daughter of an RCMP officer and children's librarian, has intimate knowledge of her subject and her audience. She has organized her information into six chapters, each starting with a brief scenario that reads like a short story. Historical and current facts are presented in short passages and text boxes accompanied by neutral drawings, once again showing the impact of the "Eyewitness" series. The images vary in size from small sketches to full-page drawings. Captions are not provided. Diagrams, such as a map locating RCMP divisions and a layout of an office, elaborate on the text. Other illustrations assist the reader in interpreting the text as well as enhancing the visual appearance of the book. However, little assistance is needed because the book is written at the appropriate level and in a style that will appeal to young readers.

Highly Recommended.

Joan C. Simpson is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - December 1, 2000.