Similar in both thematics and scope to the author's A Pioneer Story, with the same winsome combination of fiction and non-fiction (interspersed with activities such as making a pomander and other Christmas projects), Barbara Greenwood's A Pioneer Christmas depicts the Robertsons' Christmas preparations as they also await the arrival of Cousin Andrew and his heavily pregnant wife Sophie, who are traveling from Nova Scotia to Ontario (and frankly, while I do find that part of the story engaging to a point, I also find that the whole idea of Andrew and a pregnant Sophie traveling during the winter, in the snow, at precisely Christmas time a bit too similar to the Nativity story and at times rather overly dramatic, even maudlin). Many of her short stories and articles have been published in the Canadian Children's Annual and educational anthologies. She has been president of CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers) and has edited many CANSCAIP publications.
She taught elementary school for many years and, later, taught creative writing to high-school and adult students. Barbara Greenwood studied at the University of Toronto. The reams of research "left-over" from her first two books was used in A Pioneer Story, an award-winning book which mixes fact, fiction, and hands-on activities as it delves into Ontario's past. The stories she creates are those she would have liked to read at age ten or twelve or fourteen. The information gleaned from her research becomes grist for the background details and settings of novels which emphasize character development and the human side of history. Now she immerses herself in the subject: reading old diaries, journals, and letters, visiting museums, doing in-depth research at libraries, visiting the areas where her books are set. When she was young she couldn't find novels about Canada's past. Inspired by her own early fascination with historical tales, author Barbara Greenwood specializes in writing historical fiction and biographies for children and young people.
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