I got this hardcover from Better World Books, for another release copy. (It's signed by artist Ian Wallace to a previous owner, and has a charming gift message from "Uncle Moustache" as well.)

It mixes artwork by Ian Wallace with the lyrics of Lightfoot's song to depict the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway - and it's really stunning! (Even more so when you read the notes at the end, which explain some of the artist's choices for each picture - and which sometimes reveal little things that you may not have noticed on first viewing, such as the men in suits who are blithely relieving themselves off the edge of a cliff!)

My favorite line of the song is the part about "Long before the white man and long before the wheel, when the green dark forest was too silent to be real." It occurs at the beginning and at the end of the song, and each illustration is really magnificent. Along the way we get images showing the many different peoples who came to North America, the Chinese railway workers dreaming of their homeland far away, a two-page spread in which a train moves along the plains past one lone bison - with the smoke from its stack forming the silhouette of Canada...

The book includes the sheet music and lyrics of the song too, and those notes from the illustrator are a treat in themselves. Really wonderful book!

I plan to leave this book, bagged against the elements, on or near the train car at the park; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

Released for:

** 2024 Terrific Trains challenge **

** 2024 52 Towns in 52 Weeks challenge. **