Clarence’s Engine

by Trudy Cowan and Noel Lukasewich (Illustrator)

When Senator Lougheed moves his family to their new sandstone house in 1891, six year old Clarence loses his favourite toy train. Through the engaging story of his search, and vivid full colour illustrations, the reader explores the beautiful, historic Lougheed House, and also learns a great deal about life in the frontier town of Calgary.

Clarence’s Engine is the first in a series of Historical Tales from Lougheed House

Visit the Lougheed House website to read more about this famous building, to find out about school tours and to participate in ongoing events.

Reviews

This book is most suitable for children in Grade 3 or 4 who can compare their present experience with the author’s carefully researched description of a move at the end of the 19th century. Teachers with students of that age will enjoy using it in their classrooms. Parent and grandparents might read it with grandchildren to begin a conversation about ways Alberta and the world has changed in the last century. ~Dianne Linden, Legacy

Samples

Clarence twisted around and looked back…

Clarence twisted around and looked back to watch their old house getting smaller and smaller in the distance as they rode to the far end of Stephen Avenue. Then, they turned a corner and the old house was gone. The boy turned around and looked ahead, over the heads of the horses, through the steam from their heavy breathing rising into the cold, late afternoon air.

He looked around as the buggy made its way out of town, left the hard-packed streets and bumped over a rough trail across the prairie grass. They were moving to their new house. He had been told that much already. The idea of a new house was quite exciting. But as they got further and further from town, Clarence got worried. There were no other houses. If there were no other houses there would be no other children. Who would he play with? Without other boys and girls living nearby, he’d always have to look after little Norman, his two-year old brother. Oh my. He wasn’t looking forward to that.