Review of Hey Freddy, it's Canada's Birthday!
Another Amusing Tale With Educational Value by Susan Chalker Browne
Jun 28, 2009
In Hey Freddy, it’s Canada’s Birthday! the title character from Freddy’s Day at the Races is off on another wild chase. This time, it’s at the Canada Day Sunrise Ceremony on Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Freddy and his friend William are trying to make Freddy’s baby sister stop crying.
Author Susan Chalker Browne
Susan Chalker Browne, who is a journalist and teacher, lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She has received writing awards from the Arts and Letters Competition in Newfoundland, the Atlantic Writing Competition in Nova Scotia and CBC Radio.
Browne’s book Gulliver Mulligan (2003) was a Canadian Book Centre Our Choice Selection and was recommended by the Canadian Toy Testing Council. It was named one of the best picture books of 2003 by Resource Links Magazine and it was nominated for the American "Living the Dream" award.
Browne is also writing a children’s history series featuring the National Historic Sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. One of the books, Thomas Doucet - Hero of Plaisance (2004), was a Canadian Book Centre Our Choice Selection for 2006.
In Hey Freddy, it’s Canada’s Birthday! Browne has achieved another success with Freddy’s latest escapades. Children and adults alike will turn pages rapidly to find out where Freddy and William end up.
Illustrator Kathy (HildaRose) Kaulbach
Kathy Kaulbach (a.k.a. HildaRose) is a well-published illustrator who lives in Prospect Bay, Nova Scotia.
Other books that HildaRose has illustrated for Creative Publishing include:
- What if Your Mom Made Raisin Buns?
- Freddy’s Day at the Races
- Johnny and the Gipsy Moth
The whimsical and detailed artwork of HildaRose is a perfect match for Freddy’s wild adventures as he races across page after page with the reader in hot pursuit.
Hey Freddy, it’s Canada’s Birthday!
In Hey Freddy, it’s Canada’s Birthday! Freddy and his family get up early to attend the Canada Day Sunrise Ceremony on Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Freddy is dressed up in a Mountie costume and must do his duty when his little sister becomes cranky from their early rise. He and his friend William set off in a wild race to stop her crying.
Adults will enjoy sharing this entertaining and educational book with the children in their lives. Like the characters in the story, they will cheer for Freddy when he reaches the unexpected ending to his adventurous chase around Signal Hill.
Like Freddy’s Day at the Races, this picture story book is educational. On each two-page spread there is a trumpet blowing out a fact about some aspect of Canada Day or Signal Hill.
Hey Freddy, It’s Canada’s Birthday! is a terrific read aloud book to share with young children. It is also a great resource for any school curriculum that covers Newfoundland culture. In particular, it highlights the background of Signal Hill, as well as the significance of Canada Day.
Title: Hey Freddy, it’s Canada’s Birthday!
Author: Susan Chalker Browne
Publisher: Tuckamore Books (a Creative Publishers imprint), 32 pages, $12.95 CAD
ISBN: 978-1-897174-39-X
For another review of a picture book by Susan Chalker Brown see A Book Review of Freddy’s Day at the Races.
For other reviews of books published by Creative Publishers see Book Review of Johnny and the Gipsy Moth and Book Review of A Newfoundland Journal.
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