CM Magazine: Canadian Wild Flowers and Emblems, Canadian Wild Animals.

________________ CM . . . . Volume IV Number 2 . . . . September 19, 1997

cover cover

Canadian Wild Flowers and Emblems.
Colleayn O. Mastin. Illustrated by Jan Sovak.
Kamloops, BC: Grasshopper Books, 1997.
32pp., cloth and paper, $19.95 and 11.95.
ISBN 1-895910-16-1 [cloth]
1-895910-18-8 [soft cover]
Subject Headings:
Wild flowers-Canada-Juvenile literature.
Wild flowers-Canada-Juvenile poetry.
Preschool - grade 3 / Ages 4 - 8.
Review by Luella Sumner.
**** /4

Canadian Wild Animals.
Colleayn O. Mastin. Illustrated by Jan Sovak.
Kamloops, BC: Grasshopper Books, 1994, rev. 1997.
32pp., cloth and paper, $19.95 and 11.95.
ISBN 1-895910-12-9 [cloth] 1-895910-14-5 [soft cover]
Subject Heading:
zoology-Canada-Juvenile literature.
Preschool - grade 3 / Ages 4 - 8.
Review by Luella Sumner.
**** /4

excerpt:

Skunk
The creatures we call skunks
Are famous for their smell;
And all across the country
These little stinkers dwell.

They are black and white and furry,
Just as cuddly as can be,
But if by chance you get too close,
PHEW - EE!

Each animal and flower in this pair of books is introduced by a little poem which is followed by a prose description. Those flowers that are provincial emblems are so identified as are provincial birds and trees. The information is presented in a light, interesting fashion which is calculated to turn the young reader on to the further study of nature.

The colour illustrations are stunning. Unfortunately, in the volume on animals, some of the illustrations spread across both pages, thereby cutting the picture down the middle and distorting it.

This series is an excellent one for libraries. The information on each flower or animal is self contained on a page, making it easy for younger readers to access and absorb it. The index to each volume is an added attraction. Other titles in the series include Arctic Animals, Trees, Endangered Species, Birds, and Ocean Creatures. Colleayn Mastin has also written The Magic of Mythical Creatures, and Jan Sovak is an internationally acclaimed illustrator.

A portion of the sales for this series is being donated to the Canadian Nature Federation.

Recommended.

Luella Sumner is Head Librarian, Red Rock Public Library, Red Rock, Ontario.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - September 19, 1997.