The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway is a remarkable story, and this informative new book from Kids Can does quite a good job of presenting it. An experienced writer of non-fiction books, Hodge works clearly through the chronological development of her story, with brief vignettes to make the material more immediate and personal (“Meet Charlie Shaw. At age 18 he joined one of 21 survey crews criss-crossing the country.”) The large-format pages are attractively divided up and generously illustrated. The text in each section is kept fairly brief, while contemporary documents such as posters, short accounts of dramatic incidents, and brief descriptions of important figures like Sandford Fleming add other dimensions to each topic. Although Hodge celebrates the achievement – construction of nearly 3,200 km of track over very difficult terrain in only four and a half years – she also recognizes the negative impact of the construction of the CPR on Métis and aboriginal people, the dangerous working conditions for the navvies, and the unequal treatment of Chinese workers.

About half of the book concerns the building of the CPR; the rest describes aspects of the early days of trains, such as how the steam engine worked, special trains like school and royal trains, and notable disasters. Mantha’s pictures, while sometimes stilted, are colourful and atmospheric, and work well with the text. The concluding list of railway facts and glossary are useful, but a more detailed map, showing more of the places mentioned in the text, is sorely needed.