In July, we are headed to Canada for the week to experience Niagara Falls. We are “camping” (translation: staying in a nice cabin with air conditioning and a bathroom) and plan to do many of the super touristy attractions around the falls.
One of the best ways to prepare for any trip is to read anything and everything you can about the location. I’m the queen of travel books–I have read just about every Disney travel guide ever written and if I’m completely honest, I read the revised versions every year, too.
For Niagara Falls, we are reading a mix of fiction and nonfiction–stories set at the falls, biographies of daredevils at the falls, and nonfiction about the geography. Here’s a list of our favorites so far!
Manny’s Cows is an adorable tale of a little bow who lives on a dairy farm and decides to take all of his cows on vacation with him.
Wonders of America: Niagara Falls is an easy reader with simple facts and information about the falls. It’s cute and perfect for a young reader who wants to read independently.
Barreling Over Niagara Falls is the story of Annie Taylor’s adventure in the falls. It has lovely illustrations. At the end of the book, there is a list of everyone who ever attempted to go over the falls.
Queen of the Falls is another biography of Annie Taylor. It is more detailed than Barreling Over Niagara Falls and probably more interesting for older kids. The illustrations are black and white so it’s not as visually interesting as Barreling for younger kids.
Mirette & Bellini Cross Niagara Falls is based on the real life daredevil Henry Bellini but the story is fictional and part of a series about the tightrope walkers. It’s a little bit intense for the youngest kids because someone tries to sabotage their performance and they are in extreme danger. However, (spoiler alert) it’s a happy ending.
The Wonder of a Waterfall is another lovely easy reader that covers what a lot of various facts about waterfalls, including the names of the most famous ones and where they are located.
The Niagara River is a great book that covers geography, geology, history and science related to the Niagara River. It’s a great way to integrate many subjects into the topic of Niagara Falls. It may be a little advanced for younger kids but upper elementary students will enjoy it.
What else are we doing to prepare for our trip to Canada?
I found this Canadian Flag Coloring Page printable that we can all color. Fun!
We also own the book Draw Canada, which is fantastic for learning the geography of Canada by actually drawing it out. We actually own the entire series and I can’t rave about them enough. They are fantastic!
We are also reviewing our Classical Conversations Memory Work on Canada. Specifically, it is Cycle 1, weeks 21 and 22.