All Fall Down: The Landslide Diary of Abby Roberts, Frank, Alberta District, 1902 by Jean Little

All Fall Down: The Landslide Diary of Abby Roberts, Frank, Alberta District, 1902 by Jean Little

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dear Canada

This is Jean Little's fifth book in the Dear Canada series and an emotional tale probably best aimed at the older end of the recommended 8-12 age group. However, I found it somewhat different than the other books I've read in this series. The book isn't really about the Frank Slide; instead it is a story of a family with its own plot set against the historical setting where the Frank slide tragedy comes as the climax. The story deals with some excellent emotional topics. Starting with the death of the father, the family that no longer has a "head of the household" moves across the country to live with relatives. The father was a brutish man, not physically, but no one greatly misses him and other topics deeply running through the book include adoption, downs syndrome and a young girl running off with a philanderer. All of this is set against the background of a 1900s Alberta coal mining town and details the mindset of that time period. A lovely story.



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