fun things to do with kids in canada  - family travel    
  Travel for Kids
   
     
    Canada
Child on the lake in Canada
The word "Canada" is what the French explorer Jacques Cartier misheard of "Kanata," the word for "town" in the Iroquois language. The name stuck, and it's an image Canadians don't mind: their huge country, friendly as a town. Traveling with kids in Canada, it's a big place, so pick an area and get to know it.
Tip: Don't miss our top picks for children's books on Canada, recommended by the staff of Travel for Kids, see below.
West
  British Columbia
      Vancouver
      Victoria
    Alberta
      Canadian RockiesBanff, Lake Louise
      Southern AlbertaDinosaur Valley
Central
  Ontario
      Toronto
  Quebec
      Montreal
kids books canada
     
Wow Canada! - kids books Canada  
Wow Canada!
Vivien Bowers

Take a family road trip across Canada to discover funny, amazing facts, historical and natural wonders, food and festivals about each province, coast to coast. Illustrated like a scrapbook with wacky postcards, photographs, and all kinds of souvenirs! (Chapter book)

 

     
Yikes, Vikings!
Frieda Wishinsky

Whisked back in time with a flying sled to 1001, Emily and Matt meet up with Leif Eriksson and the Vikings, sailing to Vinland (Newfoundland). Can the kids learn to like a diet of fish and berries, and living in a hut? (Easy reader)

And for more exciting Canadian Flyer Adventures: A Whale Tale, Danger, Dinosaurs!, Crazy for Gold, Beware, Pirates!, Pioneer Kids, All Aboard!, Lost in Snow, Stop that Stagecoach!

 

 
Yikes, Vikings! - kids books Canada
     
Under a Prairie Sky - kids books Canada  
Under a Prairie Sky
Anne Laurel Carter, Alan and Lea Daniel

A boy, who's going to be a Mountie when he grows up, rides his horse on the prairie, looking for his little brother. "This is the land where giants ride and little brothers hide in wagonwheels, looking for buffalo heads." Gorgeous illustrations capture the wide open spaces. (Picture book)

 

     

Primrose Squarp is a freckle-faced girl who loves wacky foods (butterscotch noodle cookies, and waffles with everything). When her parents are lost at sea, Primrose adventures are just beginning with Miss Perfidy and the snobby school counselor. A hilarious read, and a great British Columbia story. (Chapter book)

 

 
     
That's Hockey - kids books Canada  
That's Hockey
David Bouchard & Dean Griffiths

Who can resist an exuberant story about the national Canadian pastime – hockey. It's fast-paced street hockey with all the kids in the neighborhood, a red ball for a puck, everybody scores, plus a surprise ending (boys and girls live for hockey). (Picture book)

 

   
The Intrepid Canadian Expedition
(Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures)
Jeff Brown

Flat Stanley's shape is perfect for snowboarding in British Columbia, but soon he finds himself parasailing above the Arctic, dogsledding to Calgary, and folded up like a maple leaf at a hockey game. (Easy reader)

 

     
Heartland: A Prairie Sampler - kids books Canada  
Heartland: A Prairie Sampler
Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet, Yvette Moore

"We joke on the Prairies that if your dog runs away from home, you can stand in front of your window and watch him for three days." Experience the wonder of the Canadian Prairies – kids playing on hay bales, exploring prairie dog holes, baking Saskatoon pies. Marvelous, detailed paintings! (Chapter book)

 

   
Fog Magic
Julia L. Sauer

Greta always loved fog, but when the mists roll in, something magical happens she can walk into Blue Cove, a long-gone village over the mountain. A charming fantasy that conjures up bygone days in sea-faring towns of Nova Scotia. (Chapter book)

 

 
   
 

Two heartwarming stories of Newfoundland and the tight-knit communities that live on the rocky island storms and shipwrecks, daring rescues by a brave dog, wild ponies left on a deserted island, legends and lost treasure. (Chapter book)

 

     
The Broken Blade
William Durbin

Summer 1800. Hair-raising adventures of young Pierre La Page, who joins the voyageurs, paddling canoes from Montreal to Grand Portage, a trading post 2,400 miles away on Lake Superior.
(Chapter book)

 

 
The Broken Blade - kids books Canada
     
 
Gold Rush Fever
Barbara Greenwood, Heather Collins

The Klondike, 1897. Two brothers head off to the Yukon to strike it rich, climbing over the treacherous Chilkoot Pass, and boating down the Yukon River to Dawson. Story is accompanied by historical photographs and activities to do make sourdough biscuits, tie knots to load a mule, play solitaire to ward off cabin fever. (Chapter book, illustrations)

And for another gold rush adventure: Jason's Gold

 

     
Far North
Will Hobbs

Gabe and Raymond, two teenage boys, are stranded in Northwest Territories with an old Dene elder, Johnny Raven. As winter sets in, Johnny teaches the boys to hunt moose, trap beaver, build snowshoes, and to stay alive. (Chapter book)

 

 
     
The Inuksuk Book - kids books Canada  
The Inuksuk Book
Mary Wallace

In Arctic Canada, inuksuk stone structures are essential for survival (some inuksuk are thousands of years old). The piles of stones aid in navigation, show a good spot to hunt or fish, mark a food cache (visible in the snow). Gorgeous silk paintings illustrate each kind of inuksuk, plus historical photographs. (Chapter book)

And, here are step by step directions to build your own inuksuk at home, using stones at hand: Make Your Own Inuksuk

 

     

Four marvelous Inuit tales by artist and writer James Houston, who spent fourteen years living in the Canadian Arctic. Each story a sea hunter is marooned on an ice floe, an old man and his grandson cross the ancient glaciers, a young boy trains to shoot the great bow, one grandmother's spirit saves the caribou hunters vividly portrays the extraordinary challenges and skill to survive in the far north. (Illustrated chapter book)

 

 
James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends - kids books Canada
     
 
Polar Bear Puzzle
Amanda Lumry, Laura Hurwitz

Riley and his cousin Alice travel to Hudson Bay, polar bear capital of the world, but the polar bears are in trouble – the ice hasn't frozen over so the polar bears can't hunt for seals, and they're very hungry. Super illustrations of all the Arctic animals. (Picture book)

 

     
Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World
Jo Ellen Bogart, Maxwell Newhouse

Discover Emily Carr, who captured the majesty and mystery of Canada in her paintings. Immense cedar forests, shimmering sky, monumental totem poles, reflect Emily's kinship with her homeland. (Chapter book, illustrations)

 

 
Emily Carr - kids books British Columbia
     
The RCMP Musical Ride - kids books Canada  
The RCMP Musical Ride
Maxwell Newhouse

The Musical Ride by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is a stunning spectacle, a precision horse ballet set to music. Go behind the scenes – the history of the Ride, training the riders and horses, equipment, steps and movements. Pageantry-filled paintings by Canadian artist Maxwell Newhouse. (Picture book)

 

     
ABC of Canada
Per-Henrik Gürth, Kim Bellefontaine

Canada from A to Z, “A is for Arctic, in the ice cold north …” beaver, Calgary Stampede, dogsled, geese, hockey, Jasper National Park, Niagara Falls, maple, salmon, Zamboni and more. Delightful illustrations and fun for younger kids. (Picture book)

 

 
ABC of Canada - kids books Canada
     
Crazy About Canada - kids books Canda  
Crazy About Canada!
Vivien Bowers, Dianne Eastman

A treasure trove of things about Canada – fun answers to kids’ questions from all over the country. How much food does a moose eat? Does Canada have the biggest mosquitoes? Which Canadian school is closest to the North Pole? And lots more fascinating stuff. (Chapter book, illustrations)

 

(More children's books on other Canada pages)