![]() ![]() Future editions, however, would benefit from a glossary or even labeled diagrams. The photographs and illustrations from Eaton’s archives add to and clarify the text. The Booky novels should be (if they are not already) part of every public- and school-library collection and be required reading along with other Canadian “classics.” Curriculum connections are numerous, the most obvious being to Canadian history. Based on the author’s own experiences as a child growing up in Toronto during the 1920s and 1930s, the Booky stories are rich in detail of city life and the tough times endured by so many. Despite the lack of material things, lively, engaging Booky and her siblings are, if nothing else, resourceful and find plenty of ways to occupy and entertain themselves-not always managing to keep out of trouble in the process. Existing on “pogey” plus whatever odd jobs Dad can find, the Thomsons are short on money, and they struggle to make ends meet. Like so many others during the Great Depression, Beatrice “Booky” Thomson’s father is out of work. An added bonus to this new edition is the inclusion of the related short story, “Visitors from Saskatoon.” Hunter’s characters come to life on the pages of her books. Reading Booky: A Trilogy, which contains Hunter’s three novels That Scatterbrain Booky (1981), With Love From Booky (1983), and As Ever, Booky (1985), is as much of a treat today as it was almost two decades ago when the books were first published. ![]()
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