Table of Contents
Book Reviews
The Stonehook Schooner.
- Written and illustrated by Judith Christine Mills.
- Review by Leslie Millar.
- Grades 2 - 4 / Ages 7 - 10.
- Video Rivals.
- Sonia Sarfati. Illustrated by Pierre Durand.
-
Translated by Sarah Cummins.
- Review by Leslie Millar.
- Grades 3 - 4 / Ages 8 - 10.
- Nanook and Naoya:
-
The Polar Bear Cubs.
- Angele Delaunois. Translated by Mary Shelton.
-
Photographs by Fred Bruemmer.
- Review by Jane Robinson.
- Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 7 - 11.
- What's a Zoo Do?
- Jonathan Webb.
- Review by Jane Robinson.
- Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 8 - 12.
- Whiskey and Ice:
- The Saga of Ben Kerr, Canada's Most Daring Rumrunner.
- C.W. Hunt.
- Review by Deborah Mervold.
- Grades 10 and Up / Ages 14 and Up.
- The Working Forest of British Columbia.
- Peter Robson, Gerry Butch, and Art Walker.
- Review by Peter Croskery.
- Grades 10 and Up / Ages 14 to Adult.
Features
Notable Web Sites
Feedback
RE: comments made by the CM reviewer of Round the Twist: The Cabbage Patch
Fib in your March 1st issue. From the reviewer's perspective the
objections are valid. However, I must speak in defence of an excellent
series worthy of greater consideration.
Round the Twist is The Australian Children's Television Foundation's most
successful series, and has won several awards from the Australian Teachers
of Media (ATOM) association, The Banff Television Festival, The
International Emmy Awards, and the Australian Film Institute Awards.
Round the Twist kits are sold by The Foundation to schools and libraries
throughout Australia.
This particular episode received the Award of Merit from the Australian
Cinematographers' Society for its cinematography, selected for screening
in the Children's Program at the Banff Television Festival in 1991, and
nominated Best Children's Television Drama by the Australian Film
Institute Awards in 1991.
The series attracted large audiences and critical acclaim when it screened
in Australia and in the UK (where it aired on BBC 1). Praise like this
should not go unnoticed.
Round the Twist was acquired for broadcast by the Children's Programming
departments of British Columbia's Knowledge Network, TV Ontario, and CBC
Television. It was subjected to a thorough screening and selection
process which would certainly dismiss any material inappropriate in
content or compromising production.
Round the Twist should be seen for what it is. The series is fantastical,
not instructional; the children are the protagonists and tend not to rely
on adult intervention. It is delightful, upbeat, and much like the
children's stories of Roald Dahl and Mordecai Richler whose humour appeals
to children and adults alike. As a learning resource it fits easily into
language arts as a creative writing tool.
For the reasons I have outlined, I am hard-pressed to agree with the
opinions of the reviewer.
Sincerely,
Leslie Elliott
Educational Sales
THA MEDIA DISTRIBUTORS
Book Review
The Stonehook Schooner.
Written and illustrated by Judith Christine Mills.
Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1995. 28pp, paper, $14.95.
ISBN: 1-55013-653-4.
Grades 2 - 4 / Ages 7 - 10.
Review by Leslie Millar.
***/4
excerpt:
Matthew's father quickly ran up the storm jib so he could steer. He
pulled on the wheel as hard as he could, but the wind and waves were too
strong. The Hannah Mary rolled and pitched in the thick, dark soup
of sky and water.
The rocks on the deck rolled from side to side, slamming against the
wooden hull. Matthew's father shouted, "Stay close to me! We'll have to
ride it out."
Judith Christine Mills has created a lovely first book with The
Stonehook Schooner. She is an artist who makes her home in
Montreal, and has shown her paintings and sculptures galleries across
Canada and the United States.
The Stonehook Schooner is a brief, historical fiction
about Matthew, a boy who longs to go stonehooking with his father.
stonehooking was the practise of gathering chunks of shale, sand, and
gravel from coves around Lake Ontario and transporting them to bigger
cities for building supplies. By the early 1900s, sophisticated inland
quarrying and the introduction of concrete as a building material
effectively ended the stonehooking trade.
Matthew's father, realizing his stonehooking days are numbered,
relents one day and brings Matthew along. They are caught in a storm and
Matthew proves his sea-worth by helping to safely navigate the schooner
back to port.
Judith Mills has written a touching, but not sentimental story that
combines a coming-of-age story in an imaginative and adventurous setting
with historical and cultural details -- all against a background of
familial love.
The writing is for the most part clear, though sometimes the
text could more aptly describe the illustrations (specifically, where
Matthew is "squeezed into" the bow when he has really climbed out onto
the bowsprit). When the storm blows up, it is unclear why Matthew and his
father were on the boat alone, when the previous page showed the crew on
board and the text stated that the hold was full.
Mills's large, subtly coloured illustrations effectively convey the
great scale of the boat and the strength of the men who form its crew.
She also captures the frightful hugeness of lake and sky. The storm
illustrations are particularly delightful.
The historical note at the end of the book helps give context to the
story. A glossary of nautical terms used in the book would also have been
useful to teachers and students.
In all, The Stonehook Schooner proved to be a most
enjoyable history lesson for this reader. It is the sort of book that can
be read and appreciated for the literary value or illustrations alone,
but could also be tied in with other subject areas such as social studies
or art.
Recommended.
Leslie Millar is a substitute teacher and volunteer in Winnipeg
schools.
Book Review
Video Rivals
Sonia Sarfati. Illustrated by Pierre Durand.
Translated by Sarah Cummins.
Halifax, NS: Formac Publishing, 1995. 59pp, paper, $5.95.
ISBN: 0-88780-314-8.
Grades 3 - 4 / Ages 8 - 10.
Review by Leslie Millar.
**1/2 /4
excerpt:
"What's wrong?" asked Raphael. "Is it something serious?"
"No, but it sure is strange. Can you explain to me why there is a
coin blocking the game? And why is this thing full of chewing gum?"
Raphael's eyes widened. Chewing gum? Chewing gum! Yes indeed, he
could explain why there was chewing gum in his cartridge player. There
was a certain person in his class at school who always had a wad of
chewing gum in his mouth -- Damian!
Sonia Sarfati is an award-winning journalist from Quebec who has written
several children's books. In 1990, she won the Alvine-Belisle prize for
best children's book. In Video Rivals she tells the story
of Raphael, a new kid in school who has only one friend, Myriam. The
school is holding a video game championship. Raphael figures if he enters
and wins, he's bound to make some more friends.
However Raphael didn't count on his surly classmate Damian sticking
gum in his cartridge player, preventing him from spending the weekend
before the contest practicing. Raphael searches for alternative means to
keep his fingers limber: playing piano; braiding his sister's hair; even
learning how to knit. But when his game machine is fixed, he finds he's
not any better.
Raphael initiates, then abandons, plans for revenge against Damian.
As it turns out, when the contest day comes Raphael and Damian are in
different age-groups, and so never have their show-down. Raphael finishes
right behind his best friend Myriam, who takes first place. Damian
finishes third in his age category. Raphael is pleased to have out-placed
Damian, and mature enough to be pleased for Myriam.
Video Rivals will attract young readers because it
deals with video games. The large print and short chapters cater to
beginning readers, but vocabulary like "sheathed," "filed," and
"uttered" will be difficult even for some fourth graders. The occasional
black-and-white illustrations have an enjoyable comic-strip quality that
reflects Pierre Durand's background as a cartoonist.
Having said that Video Rivals is current and in a
readable format, there is little else to say. The account of Raphael's
days before the championship is much like any weekend -- fairly hum-drum.
And the importance of his quest for friends is lost somewhere in the
wait for the championship. The events recounted are just stuff that
happened. Either Raphael is not troubled enough to be interesting or the
author has left too much to be inferred by the reader.
Video Rivals is a quick and easy read, but without
much ambition.
Recommended with reservations.
Leslie Millar is a substitute teacher and volunteer in Winnipeg
schools.
Book Review
Nanook and Naoya:
The Polar Bear Cubs.
Angele Delaunois. Translated by Mary Shelton.
Photographs by Fred Bruemmer.
Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 1995. 48pp, paper, $9.95.
ISBN: 1-55143-048-7. CIP.
Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 7 - 11.
Review by Jane Robinson.
**/4
excerpt:
July to September: The summer of waiting
Pushed by the north winds, what remains of the ice pack is scattered in
blocks of ice on the ocean towards the southwest. Scattered too are the
seals who fish off the coasts in the mild season.
All the bears have gone back to dry land. In late fall, when the
cold will once more imprison the bay in its shackles of ice, they will
set off again to chase seals. But from now until then they have to be
satisfied with the meagre pittance that the northern summer grudgingly
offers to the largest carnivore on earth.
Originally written in French, this is a translation by Mary Shelton of
Nanook et Naoya, les oursons polaires. The author, Angele
Delaunois, has written several other non-fiction French books about
animals. This English translation accompanies two other books from Orca
in the same collection (but not by the same author) -- one about a whale
and the other about a baby seal.
Nanook and Naoya follows two real polar bear cubs from
their birth in the dead of winter to the beginning of another winter five
years later as they reach adulthood. Organized around the seasons,
information about the polar bear's habitat, lifestyle, and habits is
conveyed as the reader watches Nanook, his sister Naoya, and their mother
survive in Cape Churchill's harsh northern environment.
Geared for an elementary school audience as a research resource and
a fascinating true story, this book's usefulness and enjoyment is marred
by wordiness. The text is too long, the style too sophisticated, the
language too ornate and the sentences too complex. Only the most patient
and knowledgeable of readers or listeners will be able to locate
information or follow the story. There is no index to help organize for
research and the twenty-word glossary (containing many Inuit words) only
begins to scratch the surface.
Forty-one remarkable photographs by internationally acclaimed
wildlife photographer Fred Bruemmer accompany the text. Insightful and
revealing, these images allow us glimpses of natural wonder -- both land
and beast. The photographs alone may be worth the price of the book, but
it is not recommended as useful addition to a research collection.
Jane Robinson is a teacher in Winnipeg.
Book Review
What's a Zoo Do?
Jonathan Webb.
Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1995. 90pp,
paper, $18.95.
ISBN 1-55013-609-7. CIP.
Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 8 - 12.
Review by Jane Robinson.
**1/2 /4
excerpt:
Zoos can't hope to save all the species that are
endangered, but they can do a number of useful things. People working in
zoos can study different animals to help discover what they need in order
to survive. Zoos themselves can be used to demonstrate what wild animals
are like. . . . Zoos can help people see how different all these animals
are and how marvellous each one is in its own way, so they will want to
do something to save the wilderness where the wild animals live. Finally,
zoos can give money, supplies, and expert assistance to scientists and
conservationists who are working to protect the wilderness.
It's a little-known fact that zoos are probably the single most popular
form of entertainment in the world. But author and zoo-champion Jonathan
Webb believes more people visit zoos than go to theatres, cinemas,
concerts, or baseball and football games. He has organized a
behind-the-scenes trip to the zoo that begins with a historical
perspective and brings the reader up to date about the functions, people,
and animals of a zoo.
The table of contents dividing the book into six broad sections
would not prove useful to a reader-researcher, but subheadings within
each section organize the information into a comprehensive explanation of
the inner workings of a zoo. (The information can also be located through
an index.) Topics covered include: how zoos are designed; how zoos
acquire and care for animals; and zoos' protective and scientific functions. Although Webb's style is suitably explanatory, a glossary would be
helpful for elementary school readers.
Throughout the book, interesting facts and trivia are boxed and
printed in boldface type to catch the reader's attention. These, and the
abundance of interesting, attractive photographs make What's a Zoo
Do? much more inviting. There are twenty black-and white, and
thirty full-colour photographs, each accompanied by a detailed caption.
This book certainly has a place on the shelves of a zoo gift shop or
a zoological society, but its usefulness to a school or public library
will depend on budget and what is already present in their collection.
Recommended with reservations.
Jane Robinson is a teacher in Winnipeg.
Book Review
Whiskey and Ice:
The Saga of Ben Kerr, Canada's Most Daring Rumrunner.
C.W. Hunt.
Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1995. 200pp, paper, $16.95.
ISBN: 1-55002-249-0.
Grades 10 and Up / Ages 14 and Up.
Review by Deborah Mervold.
***/4
excerpt:
The date is not known, but sometime during his first two years as a
rumrunner, Ben Kerr found himself the target of hijackers. As Don
Harrison, a former Trenton rumrunner, recalls the story, Kerr was
delivering a load on a lonely shore east of Rochester. He had taken his
speedboat into shallow water, bow facing out for a speedy exit, engines
idling, and was handing bags of ale to a man in a small rowboat, other
men had waded out in water up to their waists, and were carrying bags of
beer back to shore when "all hell broke loose, bullets were flying
everywhere." Kerr grabbed a rifle and immediately began firing in the
direction of the rifle flashes. The hijackers' rifle fire had driven the
men on shore into the woods and had scattered the men in the water in all
directions, but Kerr's highly accurate return fire drove the hijackers
away from the shore and gave his associates time to regroup. Kerr then
took his boat out, moved about two hundred yards east of the shooting and
then landed. He landed with his .45 revolver jammed in his belt, carrying
his .303 rifle in one hand and his 12 gauge shotgun in the other. He was
able to come up on the rear of the hijackers and, by alternately firing
the different guns, create the impression that he had others with him. In
the darkness and confusion the hijackers fled the scene, without managing
to steal a singe case.
Why would a promising pianist from a prominent Canadian family choose the
risky life of a smuggler? In Whisky and Ice, C.W. Hunt
relates how Ben Kerr, pianist and businessman, turned smuggler to become
involved in the excitement of the Prohibition struggle in Canada and the
United States. The book begins with the mysterious deaths of Kerr and his
associate, Len Wheat, on Lake Ontario in 1929. It's a mystery that Hunt
leaves open until the final chapter, when he tells of the discover of
Kerr's boat, the Pollywog, in 1994 by two sport fishermen.
In between, Hunt tells the story of Kerr, Wheat, the mobster Rocco
Perri and his wife, Bessie, and many others who played roles in the
dramas of Prohibition. Hunt briefly tells of Kerr's childhood and family
background, and outlines the political events that lead up to Prohibition
and the Ontario Temperance Act. The epilogue fills in the events and the
fate of the other characters after Kerr's death in 1929.
Kerr had courage and daring, often taking excessive risks to outwit
the ever-improving Coast Guard. Hunt describes the ten-year period in
which Kerr managed to stay ahead of the law, and the dangerous
competition, always looking for faster boats and safer harbours. The
title, Whiskey and Ice, refers to the Canadian winter and
icy conditions that forced a seasonal halt to the water trade.
Hunt, a high school history teacher and Ontario businessman, uses
newspaper accounts, personal recollections from family members and
friends of those involved, police reports, and court records to construct
the story of Ben Kerr. Although this material gives the work
authenticity, Whiskey and Ice sometimes lacks a personal
viewpoint that would give the reader a better understanding of the people
involved. Instead, Hunt concentrates on the chronological record.
Still, Whiskey and Ice is highly readable. It includes
useful illustrations and chapter notes, and a selected bibliography. The
prologue describes why this book has now been written, and the titles of
each of the eighteen chapters help direct the focus of the reader. The
well-crafted print and binding make this a good addition to high school
and public libraries.
Whiskey and Ice is suitable for a general readership
interested in Canadian history or Prohibition specifically.
Recommended.
Deborah Mervold is a Teacher/Librarian in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan.
Book Review
The Working Forest of British Columbia.
Peter Robson, Gerry Butch, and Art Walker.
Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour Publishing, 1995. 167pp, cloth, $39.95.
ISBN: 1-55017-116-X.
Grades 10 and Up / Ages 14 to Adult.
Review by Peter Croskery.
*/4
excerpt:
This book is directed to the larger segment of the public which accepts
the idea that part of the province's sprawling land mass should contain a
"working forest," a timber production area where some level of
ecological disturbance is acceptable, as long as it is reasonable.
The logging industry in British Columbia is big business. "Over 70
percent of Canada's exports of sawn lumber and half of Canada's total
export of forest products comes from British Columbia." Logging in B.C.
also evokes controversy with various factions polarized either for or
against logging -- a conflict that often makes the national news.
The Working Forest is but another in the
series of books that have appeared supporting one side or the
others in B.C.'s logging controversy. What makes this one different is
that it's an appeal for public support from big business -- the logging
industry itself.
The principal writer is Peter Robson, a former editor of
Westcoast Logger and Westcoast Fisherman magazines.
Assisting with the project were professional foresters Gerry Burch and
Art Walker. Both Burch and Walker have a wealth of forest-industry
experience.
The major element by which this book makes its case is:
. . . an excellent series of archive photos in which contemporary stands
are compared with the same sites at different stages in the forest
management cycle.
This extensive use of high-quality colour pictures, providing "before
and after" images of B.C. logging activity, gives The Working
Forest strong visual impact. The pictures prove that even heavily logged
areas do return to forest. The testimonials from
professional foresters that accompany the photos further strengthen the
industry's argument that B.C.'s forests have never been healthier.
But as I read the book, I couldn't help but feel that I had heard
the industry messages before -- "We create jobs, provide new
recreational opportunities through roads into wilderness areas, better
habitat for wildlife and healthy forests." But I also recalled that many
of these messages are half truths.
There are many instances throughout Canada of towns dependent upon
forest-based industries that have suffered as logging "moved on." And,
although environmentalists appreciate the industry's commitment to
rehabilitating logged sites, the industry doesn't appreciate the unique
scientific values associated with old growth forests. Replanting will
never return an old growth forest's genetic diversity or unique
biological character. These are forever lost.
What The Working Forest fails to provide is any solid
evidence that change is occurring or will occur within the industry.
Granted, concessions have been made to protect environmental values and
clear-cut sizes are smaller than they once were. However, these are not
the only changes needed within the industry.
For a better alterations to forestry practices that should be considered, the
reader is advised to read Forestopia: a Practical Guide to the New
Forest Economy (also from Harbour Publishing). Forestopia focuses
on the economics of forestry and the sociological effects the industry
can have.
Still, The Working Forest is a remarkable instance of the industry
actually trying to explain and defend its actions. Perhaps that in itself
is an acknowledgement that industry must be accountable to the public in the
future.
Though it's an interesting way to approach B.C. logging issues, the
before-and-after pictorial record has limited reader appeal. After
viewing a dozen picture sets, I didn't need to see more. (Though if the
pictures were of areas I was intimately familiar with I might have been
more interested.) The accompanying testimonials are almost exclusively
from professionals within the forest industry. I wonder what non-forest
industry personnel might offer had they been asked to comment.
While The Working Forest is a beautifully produced
book, I don't feel the content justifies the cost.
Not recommended.
Peter Ross Croskery is an Environmental Communications Specialist
living in Grimsby, Ontario.
Notable Web Sites
Every week, CM presents a brief collection of
noteworthy, useful, or just interesting sites we've turned up and actually
checked.Please send us URLs and evaluations of any web-sites you think
deserve the exposure.
- The Nine Planets
- http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/
- "This is an essay about our solar system with text, pictures, sounds and an occasional movie. Each of the planets and major moons in our solar system is briefly described and illustrated with pictures from NASA spacecraft. With a few clicks, you can see images that only a few decades ago could only be dreamed of."
Actually pretty good, especially if, like me, you can never remember the name of
Jupiter's eleventh moon. (Lysithea
). Also the planets have accompanying sound-clips from Holst,
if you don't mind the download wait.
- Resources for Young Writers
-
http://www.interlog.com/~ohi/inkspot/young.html
- Part of the larger Inkspot site devoted largely to resources for writers for children, Resources for Young Writers is good for what the title promises. Contests, information on books and writing, e-zines that publish children's writing and more. The current feature,
for example, is "Tips for Aspiring Young Screenwriters."
- CMC -- Children's Museum -- Great Adventure tour
-
http://www.cmcc.muse.digital.ca/cmc/cmceng/childeng.html
- I've held off on this one because it features a particularly dopey
floorplan interface (please get them to stop). However, it's part of Canada's Museum of Civilization and the content isn't bad.
"The Great Adventure takes children on a worldwide trip where they
encounter exciting locations, interesting people and enticing activities. From
the moment they pick up their passports, they discover one incredible
destination after another. We help them plan their trip, or they can design their
own itineraries. Whether it's a trek through the desert to a pyramid, a jaunt to
the port to help unload a cargo ship, or a stroll through the bustling market bazaar, children will encounter endless ways to learn about the world and gain an understanding of each other."
- Nessie on the Net in Scotland!
- http://www.scotnet.co.uk/highland/index.html
- "The monster was also seen last century but the poor man who sighted the beast was so shocked he did not speak much about the incident. Throughout this century so many people have seen Nessie who seem to have no identifiable gain from telling of their sightings that it seems likely that a great unexplained mystery does exist."
Uh, yeah. Still, students have to learn to separate real-life from the X-Files sometime and this might be a good place to start. It's a fun site, which includes bits on the Highland Games, "Megan and Katie: Two great Highland Cows! (now with sound)," and audio clips of actual sheep. All things Scottish, really.
- Space Explorer Digest
- http://nyquist.ee.ualberta.ca/~wanigar/spacelink/SpaceExplorer_digest.html
- Next to robots, space exploration is the best thing about science. This will keep budding astronauts up to date on the news from the deep beyond.
-
CM
Editor
Duncan Thornton
e-mail: cmeditor@mts.net
-
CM
Executive Assistant
Peter Tittenberger
e-mail: cm@umanitoba.ca
Copyright © 1996 the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
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