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		UNE VIE À REFAIRE. MARY MacDONALD, FILLE DE LOYALISTE KARLEEN BRADFORD MARKHAM, ONT.: ÉDITIONS SCHOLASTIC, 2004. 224 P. (CHER JOURNAL) ISBN 0439966531 AGES 9 TO 12 Available in English under the title With Nothing But Our Courage: The Loyalist Diary of Mary MacDonald (Markham, Ont.: Scholastic Canada, 2002)
Une vie à refaire. Mary MacDonald, fille de loyaliste Source

In 1783, colonists loyal to the British Crown clashed with American Patriots during the American War of Independence. Many loyalists were forced to abandon their homes and move north, seeking refuge in the British colonies that today form Canada. Mary MacDonald and her family take flight with only what they can carry in their wagon, and make their way along the Hudson River towards Lake Champlain. After spending the winter in a refugee camp in Sorel, they clear and settle a plot of land at Johnstown.

The book is divided into short chapters that represent entries in Mary's private journal. Maps, engravings from the colonial period, recipes and archival documents such as a petition, reinforce the historical character of this beautiful publication, with its rough-edged paper and silk bookmark. Young readers will be enthralled by the first-person account of the narrator's experiences. The Dear Canada series presents the history of Canada through the diaries of young girls whose lives have been touched by major events. The other French titles in the series are Adieu, ma patrie by Sharon Stewart, Seule au Nouveau Monde by Maxine Trottier and Ma sœur orpheline by Jean Little.

-JP