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A Prairie as Wide as the Sea: The Immigrant Diary of Ivy Weatherall
Sarah Ellis
Historical Fiction (Series)
Ages 12 and up
Scholastic Canada, 2001, 0-439-98833-0
Ivy and her family live in London and it is a time when there are very few jobs to be had. It has been decided that the family are going to move to Canada to join Ivy's uncle Alf. Uncle Alf has a "ranch" in Saskatchewan and it is hoped that the prospects for work will be good there. When they arrive on the prairie they are all amazed at the openness of the place, the huge sky and the land rolling away like a sea. They also amazed, or horrified perhaps, to discover that Uncle Alf is not a rancher at all. He rents his farm and in fact he has incurred considerable debts in the nearby town. Now it is up to Ivy's family to help him out instead of the other way round.
Soon Ivy and her family have their own house to live in. Her elder brother William is having to work in the general store to pay off Uncle Alf's debts and her father accepts any work he can find. Ivy discovers that she likes being a country girl. She especially likes having a horse and riding to school. It is hard to believe that not long ago she lived in London, a big metropolis full of buses, people, noise and bustle. Now Ivy has to deal with horses, chicken, blizzards and skunks.
Ivy is a funny, loveable girl who is delightfully human. She seeks vengeance when she considers she has been wronged, she feels great joy, disappointment, and loss. She also loves to emulate the characters in the books she reads, wishing all the while that she could be brave and admirable the way they are. What she does not see is that she, Ivy, has her own strengths, and her own courage which gets her through very hard times. Indeed Ivy is a very brave girl and one that we, her readers, can admire very much.
With wonderful sensitivity and a delightful sense of humour, the author takes us into the heart and mind of this altogether charming young girl, and in the process shows us a time and a world which is both fascinating and intriguing.
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