David Johnston (13) (1941–)

The sub-title says it all: How Canadians made the world a smarter, smaller, kinder, safer, healthier, wealthier, and happier.

David Johnston's term as Canada's Governor General ended in September 2017 and to commemorate the occasion, he gave us this collection of creativity originating in Canada from the light bulb (yes, Canadians Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans sold their patent to Edison) to the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights by John Humphrey in 1948, to blue box recycling. show more This book will be a welcome addition to any young person's library (and mine) because the nationality of so many breakthroughs don't get noticed or are forgotten and Canada has so much to be proud of. It's also a reminder that innovation can be generated by anyone. Very interesting, well-written, with great illustrations. show less

This wonderful collection of Canadian inventions of all kinds (including many unexpected ones) is an excellent way to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary. Lovingly illustrated, each invention is described with a short and engaging text that should appeal to anyone age 6 and up. We read it multiple times with my 7yo daughter and it gained a spot on her shelf of favourite books. A good gift idea!

While the concept of this book and the design are great, the text itself seemed to "talk down" to its audience. There was a lot of "Wow! Way back before you were born people didn't have text messaging!" kind of hyperbole. Also, the qualifications of a Canadian inventor seemed to be inconsistent, adjusted to fit the narrative: some inventors were born in Canada but living elsewhere when they created their invention, some were born elsewhere but were living in Canada at the time of their show more invention. And giving Canadian native tribes full credit for the invention of canoes seemed a bit of a stretch.

Cute drawings, nice idea, but not the best execution. show less

Fantastic book!

I don't know why this kind of book hasn't been written before. This is a highly readable, nicely laid-out account of fifty Canadian inventions, organized in 6 categories (smarter, smaller, kinder,safer, healthier, wealthier, and happier)

Some of the inventions are more well-known (Blackberry, basketball). Many, however, were new to me and my family. My older son was impressed that Java was homegrown, while my younger son woad tickled by the knowledge that the Shreddies he was show more eating were Canadian. My husband, an immigrant, read about the walkie-talkie.

Each entry is short and snappy, making it easy for my 11 and 13 year old boys to enjoy.

What a great book to inspire Canadians on our sesquicentennial! show less