Our non-fiction loving Bear was gifted many interesting books but none as interesting as Innovation Nation by David Johnson, former Governor General of Canada, and Tom Jenkins and illustrated by Josh Holinaty.  A kid-friendly edition of Ingenious, Innovation Nation takes you through some interesting innovations that have helped Canadians and the world become smarter, kinder, healthier, wealthier, safer, happier and smaller.  Set up as sections with various innovations listed within each section, children have the opportunity to learn and understand some of the incredible inventions and innovations they use in their daily life.

I especially love how David Johnson highlights many innovations created by First Nations, innovations created to help them live and survive such as the toboggan, maple syrup, and lacrosse.  It is totally fascinating to truly see how much of an impact has been made worldwide by people on Turtle Island. As an adult, I was aware of some of the innovations on the list but there were many I was completely unaware of such as Java, peanut butter, and the whoopee cushion.  Another thing that struck me was the number of innovations that did not achieve popularity until they were bought by American companies and marketed there.

Josh Holinaty has contributed some really fun and engaging illustrations to once again highlight the contributions of creators and innovators.  A non-fiction book can at times be dry and unimaginative. We are so fortunate in Canada to have some brilliant writers and illustrators who are creating non fiction content that is engaging, interesting, fun and informative.  Being that I have such a lover of non-fiction in my household, it is so incredible to know there are many sources of wonderful works to satisfy The Bear’s want for information.