by Carolyn Barnes

This booklet is short, and tells of an incident in the life of Laura Secord. Laura Secord was alive in the early 1800's. She was drawn into a war between Canadian and American soldiers because she and her family lived near Niagara Falls, very close to the Canadian/American border. And no, Laura Secord did not make chocolate candy. Though, by the end of the book, I understood why a brand of candy was named after her - she was a genuine folk-heroine. Her noted act of bravery was to walk twenty miles, through farms and forests, to give warning that American soldiers were about to attack a certain place.

The booklet also talks about Laura Secord's day-to-day heroism: taking care of a wounded husband, her five children and a house-all while being held prisoner in her own home by American soldiers.

There is a sketch of Laura Secord on page 3, showing her strong, calm face framed by a lacy Victorian bonnet. There are two other illustrations in the booklet.

This book is good, but would be better if it described both the conditions of Laura Secord's life and the factors that shaped the war she was involved in. I think women are very eager to read and understand the part we play in Canadian history, but it's not enough just to read about acts of heroism. What women do everyday is important and should be described. I feel Laura Secord took her 20-mile walk pretty much in stride.

A review by Vivian Stollmeyer, Toronto, Ontario