CM March 15, 1996. Vol II, Number 22

Table of Contents

Book Reviews

CDNThe Stonehook Schooner.
Written and illustrated by Judith Christine Mills.
Review by Leslie Millar.
Grades 2 - 4 / Ages 7 - 10.

CDNVideo Rivals.
Sonia Sarfati. Illustrated by Pierre Durand.
Translated by Sarah Cummins.
Review by Leslie Millar.
Grades 3 - 4 / Ages 8 - 10.

CDNNanook 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.

CDNWhat's a Zoo Do?
Jonathan Webb.
Review by Jane Robinson.
Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 8 - 12.

CDNWhiskey 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.

CDNThe 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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