The Tygrine Cat

by Inbali Iserles

Fleeing his homeland upon his mother's death, young Mati hides on board a ship and steps out on a new land. He tries to join a community of feral cats that holds territory in the marketplace, but they are suspicious of outsiders. Mati doesn't understand their customs, has strange abilities and looks different too. (From the descriptions I guessed he was an abyssinian). Mati tries to make friends and learn their ways, but frightening events start to occur and the innocent newcomer is held to blame...

I was disappointed that I didn't care more for this one. It has a lot of adventure and a bit of a mystery too, since Mati can't quite remember where he came from and is unaware of the ancient powers he holds. Turns out he is being chased by an assassin and must face a final battle with an evil creature. It's a fast-paced story with a strong fantasy bent but I guess I just wished for a little more character depth and the feline lore- traditions, superstitions, invented names the cats called things- dogs and humans for example were "hinds" and "oolfs"- wasn't quite rich enough to seem real. I just couldn't get into it. But I bet my ten-year-old will really enjoy this book.

Abandoned         242 pages, 2007

more opinions:
Things Mean a Lot
Socrates' Book Reviews
The Book Vault

The Abandoned

by Paul Gallico

Delightful story about a lonely boy who loves cats and finds himself turned into one. He rushes into the street after a tabby kitten and is hit by a car when the transformation happens. Unceremoniously thrown out of the house, Peter-now-the-cat must find his way in a terrifying new world where everything once familiar is now strange. Luckily he meets a very kind and street-wise female named Jennie who is quite skeptical of his story until she realizes he does not at all behave like a cat, and moreover can read and understand human speech. Jennie takes it upon herself to teach Peter how to survive as a stray and moreover, how to act and think like a cat- all the little skills and rules of conduct for his new life. They have quite a number of adventures, including time spent as ship's cats, and become very fond of each other, even though Peter longs for the comforts of his past life while Jennie cannot bring herself to trust human beings. I won't say more, only that this is a wonderful book I wish I'd encountered as a child but am very glad it stands up to my first reading it as an adult. I don't know which I liked more, the deep story of friendship and trust, or the wonderful details of being feline. The ending feels like a bit of a cop-out, but I dismissed that easily enough. I'd read it again.

As you can see from the cover image, it has also been published with the title Jennie. I found out about this book here.

Rating: 4/5        307 pages, 1950

The Grandest of Lives

Eye to Eye with Whales
by Douglas H. Chadwick

Writer and wildlife biologist Chadwick (of A Beast the Color of Winter) became interested in whales and started accompanying other scientists on study trips across the oceans to lend a hand and see whales up close. In this book, he shares information on five whale species, the well-known orcas, humpbacks and giant blue whales, the more common and less-studied minke, and the deep-diving northern bottlenose whale. Each chapter tells about the studies being conducted, difficulties due to weather and equipment failure, innovations in the field, the conflicts of traditional whaling interests and fisheries with conservation efforts, and brief encounters with whales after long hard hours spent searching for them. It was the whale behavior stuff I found most interesting, whether it be their feeding methods and mysterious communication calls or movements among themselves and how some approached boats (one female seemed to think the boat could babysit her calf). Not to be all one-sided, Chadwick also observed methods used on a Norwegian whaling vessel (aimed at killing whales - their rightful heritage, it is claimed- in the fastest, least traumatic way possible) and traveled to Japan to find out about the whaling activities there. There are lots of numbers- population fluctuations and such- and other types of data gone into in detail, which detracts from enjoyment for this casual reader. The author communicated well how difficult it is to learn anything about the personal lives and habits of the whales, when we only glimpse them at the surface, and 95% of their time is spent below it. It was a worthwhile read, covering many aspects of whale biology and research.

Rating: 3/5        256 pages, 2006

A Whale for the Killing

by Farley Mowat

In the late sixties, very little was known about whales and their demise from the whaling industry and overfishing seemed imminent. So when a fin whale (second-largest next to the blue whale) became trapped by the tide in a small cove on the coast of Newfoundland, Mowat saw it as an opportunity to learn more about the whale at close quarters. He was shocked and angered to find locals using the whale for sport, shooting at it and chasing it with their speedboats. He appealed to local authorities for help and getting little response, went to the media and Canadian government. The small community he lived in split sides as some saw his work advocating for the whale as meddlesome, objected to being denied water passage through areas they'd always used, and resented criticism from the outside world. Others welcomed the attention the whale brought their small village, hoping it would bring them tourists and that improvements like better roads would follow. Efforts to free the whale had to wait for the next highest tide (which would need to coincide with a storm to raise the water enough for the whale to escape via a narrow passage) - it would have been a month at best, but the story of the whale covers only ten days. Mowat struggled to find means to feed the whale, and protect it from people (whether they were just curious, bored or outright cruel mattered little in the end- they did the whale no good).

It gets set up slowly, introducing the reader to the history of whaling in Newfoundland (and around the world) as well as the location. Mowat had only been in this remote fishing community for five years, seeking a quiet place to live far from "modern society" (he rants a lot against industrialization and modern technology, seems to hate the telephone in particular). Unfortunately his actions in favor of the whale brought all kinds of conflict and ill-feeling, I guess he did not continue living there for long after the incident. In parts the book is almost more a study of human nature (how people responded to the whale's presence and each other's involvement in its plight) than it is about the whale itself. There are some detailed descriptions of its sheer size, calm movements, eerie sounds. Also details on its natural feeding methods (which could hardly be met) and how another fin whale (probably its mate) stayed just outside the inlet to the cove constantly until the whale died. It's a frustrating story to read, because so little could be done, and by the time scientists became interested in the whale it was too late for them to arrive and learn anything. But the book did have an impact on early whale conservation efforts.

Rating: 3/5      239 pages, 1972

TBR from reading and browsing

I had a chance to visit the public library without my kids, so browsed the shelves at leisure. Brought home a few books to read, but couldn't possible carry (or find time for) all the ones that caught my eye, so I wrote down a list of titles to go back for later. Some of these are also from references listed in recent reads:

Beneath the Surface by John Hargrove
Amazing Rare Things by David Attenborough
Smithsonian Natural History Kathryn Hennessy
The Amateur Naturalist by Nick Baker
Secret Lives of Common Birds by Marie Read
Captivating Bluebirds by Stan Tekiala
Life Along the Delaware Bay by Niles, Berger, Dey et al
The Bonobo and the Atheist by F.B.M. de Waal
Giraffe Reflections by Dale Peterson
Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon by Rebecca L. Grambo
Whitetail Tracks by Valerius Geist
The Odyssey of KP2 by Terrie M. Williams
The Last Unicorn by William DeBuys
Wild Ones by Jon Mooallem
The Way of the Panda by Henry Nicholls
The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell
The Great White Bear by Kieran Mulvaney
Among Giants by Charles Nicklin and K.M. Kostyal
The Intimate Ape by Shawn Thompson
Tibet Wild by George B. Schaller
Into Great Silence by Eva Saulitis
Last Chain on Billie by Carol Bradley
The Black Rhinos of Namibia by Rick Bass
An Indomitable Beast by Alan Rabinowitz
A Sting in the Tale by David Goulson
Ten Million Aliens by Simon Barnes

Wild Animals in Captivity by Heini Hediger
Zoo: a History of Zoological Gardens by Eric Baratay
A Different Nature: the Pradoxical World of Zoos by David Hancocks
Sea Otters by Marianne Riedman
Sea Otters by John A. Love
Sea Otters a Natural History and Guide by Roy Nickerson
The World of the Sea Otter by Stephanie Paine

Death at SeaWorld

Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
by David Kirby

This book is about the controversy over keeping orcas in captivity. If you've seen the film Blackfish, it's the same topic, although much broader in scope. It's not all about SeaWorld, it does discuss other marine parks and some studies of orcas in the wild.  Kirby goes into a ton of detail, particularly about the background of various people involved and what led them to work with orcas. By the second half of the book I realized its main focus was the 2010 incident when a male orca killed an experienced trainer during a show. There is a lot of detail about what happened afterwards, especially the legal tangle that ensued. Kirby attempts to fairly portray both sides- presenting what the captive marine industry has to say and their defenses, but its pretty apparent that the book leans in the anti- camp. It seems his main source was Naomi Rose, a wildlife scientist who works for the Humane Society- there's a lot about her. Practically a portrait of the life and work of Naomi Rose, in many ways. It became hard to read- because of the horrific scenes described when trainers were injured or killed by captive whales, the suffering of the animals (especially compared to the condition and behavior of their wild kin) and the tedious recitation of facts which, although informative, make for very dull reading. I would have rather read more about the whales themselves, this book is mostly focused on industry practices, events and people. However I learned a lot about what goes on and honestly I'm appalled that marine parks still keep orcas for display and entertainment after what has happened. They seem very unsuitable for life in captivity. Read more here.

I borrowed this book from the public library, found it while browsing the shelves.

Rating: 3/5        469 pages, 2012

Sea Otters

by Glenn VanBlaricom

A nice introduction to sea otters, this short book tells a lot about their biology, lifestyle and interactions with people, including the often negative consequences. How otters cope with living in the cold water, their diet, what is known about their breeding habits and life cycle, methods used to study them and so on. I didn't know there are two species of otter that use ocean waters- marine otters rest and breed on land and only the sea otter spends its entire life in the water. As a key predator otters influence their environment significantly- they must eat a lot to keep up body heat so they actually compete with shellfish harvesting. Ironically this wasn't even an industry until otter populations were decimated by fur hunters. On the other hand, otters keep down numbers of sea urchins which can consume so much plant and algae life they turn large areas of ocean floor into an aquatic desert. It's a complicated issue. I was surprised to learn that even though otter populations had recovered encouragingly since hunting them was banned in 1911, they had a seventy percent population decline in the decade prior to this book's publication. Their new threats are conflicts with fishing industries, pollution and oil spills, poaching for illegal fur trade, legal harvest by native tribal groups and a shift in feeding habits by orcas- which now often eat otters.

Sea otters are so charming, and the pictures in this book are very appealing. I learned why sea otters perform those amusing contortions in the water, rolling with their paws held up (seen in a lot of cute videos posted online)- they like to keep their paws dry when resting (keeps them warmer) but have to roll themselves to stay anchored in the kelp which gradually unravels as the wind and waves move.

I picked up this book at a discard sale. You might think from its length and numerous large pictures that it's juvenile non-fiction but the writing is quite sophisticated. An easy read in one sitting for me, however it might be a bit beyond my ten-year-old.Very educational, interesting reading and good quality photographs. I have a number of books from this WorldLife Library series published by Voyageur Press, and they're all good.

Rating: 4/5      72 pages, 2001

The Lost Whale

by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm

In 2001 a small killer whale was seen in Nootka Sound, separated from his family group. He hung around there for five years. Apparently skilled and outgoing for such a young orca- at four years old and living solo he had no trouble catching fish to eat. The whale was approaching boats and acted very interested in people. His friendliness won him a lot of fans- people started travelling from afar to go out on the water and see this little whale that would come up to the side of a boat, nudge the sides, roll at the surface to look at people, flip his fins around and lob his tail, spyhop and surf the boat's wave- you name it. But when the whale grew bigger and got bolder it became a serious problem. He interfered with the passage of vessels, frightened people by lifting their boats out of the water, broke a number of propellers and rudders. People worried about serious damage or injury when he played around seaplanes and approached kyakers. There was a lot of public conflict over the fate of this whale- many said he should be left alone, which was difficult to enforce when the whale deliberately approached people. Others thought it cruel to deny the whale contact when he obviously sought it out. First Nations groups saw the whale as an embodiment of their ancestor and felt honored by his presence in their waters, they actively thwarted capture efforts. Attempts to relocate the whale or lead him back to his migrating pod would cost a lot, with little promise of success. Many worried that if the whale was captured he would not actually be relocated but end up in an aquarium instead. The book is all written in a very matter-of-fact reporting style, with here and there some lovely descriptions of the moods of the ocean or the texture of the water's surface. I mainly read through the whole thing just to see where the orca ended up. I'd never heard of this story before.

I borrowed this book from the public library.

Rating: 3/5      330 pages, 2013

Now You See Me

from Endangered to Extinction
by Diane Brischke

This book is a call to action on behalf of endangered wild animals. It highlights twenty very recognizable species- cheetah, elephant, panda, manatee, wolf, iguana, parrot, rhinoceros, etc and tells briefly what kinds of threats they face from mankind including pollution, habitat loss, climate change, poaching and population decline due to the pet trade. Sadly, it is not a book I can recommend. I expected from the large format to find gorgeous photographs inside, but only a few are excellent in quality, the rest are just okay. I know the book is directed at younger readers, but still it seemed overly simplified and very repetitive. Not much real information was shared, mostly generalizations about animals loosing habitat and facing the end: extinction. Except- some of them aren't in that dire of a situation yet. Black bears are featured in this book, yet the IUCN lists this bear as being of "least concern" and National Geographic says "this is the only bear species considered secure throughout its range". Sloths are also "of least concern." Leopards are "threatened". So why are they in this book? There are far more species seriously critically endangered that could have been included.

Aside from that, I found it annoying to read because of the numerous typos, odd punctuation, run-on sentences and awkward phrases that seemed to be missing words, so they made no sense. I often had to read a sentence two or three times. The book really needed a better editor. White text on various dark and colored backgrounds was a poor choice, it's a headache for my eyes. I can only imagine this would be frustrating and disappointing for kids to read, as it was for me.

I received a copy of this book for review.

Rating: 1/5      52 pages, 2014

The Octopus and the Orangutan

by Eugene Linden

What, exactly, is the nature of intelligence? This book looks at a wide variety of animal behaviors that baffle or surprise people, because they display a level of intelligence and ingenuity that we like to reserve for ourselves. Most of the incidents described here are encounters wild animals have with people in captive settings, not in the kind of measured experiment scientists use for proof. So it's anecdotal evidence, things we can only surmise and guess at what they might really mean in terms of how much the animal actually understands. I was actually expecting a lot more stories, but appreciated what I got- the author takes pains to examine the background of each incident presented, and goes into depth considering all the implications and possible explanations. There are stories of animals using deception, offering comfort, using tools in new ways (at least not seen by humans before), communicating across species, hiding their intentions and negotiating for rewards. The discussion ranges all over- sometimes I got impatient when it seemed to veer off topic (away from the animals), but the author always had a point. Lots of ideas that I'm still thinking about. Orangutans and octopuses are held up as key examples of intelligence but the book also features squirrels, orcas, elephants, dolphins, chimpanzees, starlings, dogs, horses and more.

I found this book at a thrift shop.

Rating: 4/5      242 pages, 2002

extra TBR

Most of these book titles I came across as references listed in the back of The Soul of an Octopus; the rest of them I happened across while looking for the former in the library's online catalog. Add to the list!

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms by Richard Fortey
Sex, Drugs and Sea Slime by Ellen Prager
Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer
A Farm Dies Once a Year by Arlo Crawford
Fifty Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas
One-Woman Farm by Jenna Woginrich
Growing a Farmer by Kurt Timmermeister

Octopus the Ocean's Intelligent Invertebrate by Roland Anderson
Window to the Sea by John Grant
Super Suckers by James Cosgrove
Octopus and Squid: the Soft Intelligence by Jacques Yves Cousteau
The Outermost House by Henry Beston
The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez- So Many Books

The Soul of an Octopus

by Sy Montgomery

The octopus is an alien intelligence, right here on earth. These creatures are fascinating. Sy Montgomery wowed me as usual. She's one of my favorite nature writers- always accessible, easy to get immersed in her stories, I can't put the book down. She tells about getting to know several octopuses in succession at a public aquarium behind the scenes, becoming a priveledged enough visitor to receive an access badge and herself answering questions about the animal for visitors. Ocotopuses have a very short lifespan in spite of all their smarts (three to four years at best) so the aquarium usually had a younger one adjusting to life in captivity behind the scenes when the current octopus on display began to age. They each had their own personality, some appearing to like the company and attention of humans, others not. They presented different challenges- a bored octopus will cause trouble by attempting to escape or eating its tankmates, so the aquarium staff have to find toys to amuse it or make food puzzles to keep it occupied. In between visits to the aquarium tanks, Montgomery took diving lessons and made forays into the ocean with guided groups, hoping to observe wild octopuses (they're hard to find). She also relates many interesting things about many other fish and invertebrates at the aquarium or that she encountered on the ocean dives, and talks about her developing friendships with other octopus fans, how contact with the octopus changed some of their lives. Mostly it is full of wonder for this strange, incredible animal and knowledge shared. And now I want to read more about octopus, must find more books. There's several on my list, but I haven't been able to find copies yet...

I borrowed this book from my public library.

Rating: 4/5       261 pages, 2015

The Book of Animal Ignorance

by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson

A book full of really odd and intriguing facts about animals. Lots of things I never heard of before. Made me constantly blurt out an astonished "did you know-??" to my husband if he happened to be in the room when I was reading, and jot things down to look up online later- yeah, they're true. It's organized in alphabetical order and tells about all kinds of interesting critters, from the unusual (naked mole rats, tardigrade aka "water bears", quolls) to the more commonly known worms, rabbits, monkeys, fleas, you name it. Surprising bits of information on all of them. It reminded me a lot of those "True Facts About the [insert animal name]" videos you find on youtube with the deep voice narrating, because of the amount of crazy information about how animals mate. From anatomy to behavior, animals have more strange ways of doing it than I had ever imagined!

Some things that really jumped out at me: polar bears will eat toothpaste. Apparently they find the smell of it irresistible. There is a moth that smells like goats (and another one that smells like chocolate). The area of an echidna's brain that has to do with reasoning and personality is very large in proportion to the rest of it- even bigger than that in "higher" mammals. No one's figured out why. Female ferrets actually get sick if they're not mated when in heat. Also: ferrets have been used to thread cables through long tunnels or pipes, and Boeing used them to run cables through inaccessible parts of airplanes- until apparently the ferrets started getting bored and taking naps halfway through finishing their task! Some frogs will vomit by turning their stomach inside out and cleaning it with their hands before swallowing it again! (I think that's nearly as gross as the sea cucumber's defensive mechanism of vomiting up its guts). The giraffe's tongue is dark blue to keep it from getting sunburned (it is used so much to pluck leaves off trees). Echidnas may appear brainy for their size, koalas are not. Their brain is so small it floats in the cranial cavity, surrounded by twice as much empty space! There is a calculator made from the neurons of leeches?? I don't understand this one, really. There is a specific species of louse that infects almost every animal- except for bats, echidnas and the platypus (why?) The Romans used to eat parrots, when their novelty as pets wore off. There is a species of rabbit that has stripes- it is extremely rare. The tuatara (primitive reptile related to lizards) has a third eye. An earthworm has ten hearts!

Very interesting article this book lead me to look up: Humboldt's Parrot: Endangered species and endangered languages. Want to know more crazy stuff about animals? Read the book!

Rating: 3/5      241 pages, 2007

TBR again

I think this is the first time I've posted a TBR list where every title on it is actually available at my local library.

Cat Sense by John Brandshaw- Opinions of a Wolf
Working Stiff by Judy Melinek- Shannon's Book Bag
The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne- Caroline Bookbinder
Jennie alternate title The Abandoned by Paul Gallico
Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks- seen on library shelf
Aquarium by David Vann- Bermudaonion's Weblog
The God Species by Mark Lynas- So Many Books
Help! I'm a prisoner in the library by Eth Clifford- Melody's Reading Corner
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson- Things Mean a Lot
Living in Denial by Kari Marie Norgaard- So Many Books

Children of the Wild West

by Russell Freedman

A juvenile non-fiction book, this is pretty good for its intended audience but won't be a keeper for me. It relates what life was probably like for kids during the mid- to late 1800's in America. Pioneer children travelling west in wagon trains and native american children living in their various tribes. Mostly it just details daily life, occasionally touches on some deeper topics such as how native american children were often taken from their homes and put into white schools, taught new occupations. (Some of the most compelling images were side-by-side pictures of groups of native girls and boys, depicted when they first arrived at a school dressed in their traditional attire, and again a year or so later in stiff western clothing. They look miserable- but its hard to tell really when you remember how still they had to keep their faces for a clear photograph back then). The book also tells how young children had to work on farms and homesteads, in town jobs such as running messages or typesetting, riding horses on ranches and even acting as travelling performers. Their typical daily chores. What kinds of games and amusements they had. Schooling in one-room buildings (that often doubled as a church on sunday), the hardships of frontier schoolteachers. I did not find a lot here that was new to me, but the photographs are excellent for their time, it is quite something to peer at their solemn, often indistinct faces and wonder what it was really like for them. The book also details how early photography was done, the difficulties of travelling photographers who presented their skill as a novelty item to the hardworking people in frontier and mining towns.

Rating: 3/5        104 pages, 1983

Of Wolves and Men

by Barry Holstun Lopez

The last book I read sparked my interest to read another one about wolves off my shelf. This book introduces the biology and behavior of the wolf, but mostly it is an examination about the different aspects relationships between mankind and wolves have taken on through the centuries, up to the present day. It looks at fairy tales, myths, folklore and misconceptions alike (presenting a nice distinction between fable and fairy tale by the way). It is not exactly linear in nature, discussing firstly the close parallel lives of native americans and other peoples who lived a hunting lifestyle had with wolves (and how this affected their view and esteem of wolves), then the warfare and extermination programs run against wolves in North America- all the various methods and justifications people had for killing wolves and the devastating effects this had. Then it examines the medieval view of wolves, which was mostly fanciful and moralizing. Wolves were presented as the embodiment of evil and religious powers only strengthened this idea, which persisted for a very long time. Then there's the completely opposite idea of the wolf as a nurturing mother that would raise human children in the wild- I came across a lot of familiar material in this chapter. Lopez shows how eventually science tried to look at real wolves and understand them, but how difficult it remains to break from old ideas, to see past what we've always believed to be true. The final epilogue is all too short, a glimpse of the time the author spent raising two wolves- I want to read more about that. I suspect he did not write much about it because he realized it is a bad idea and didn't want others to be encouraged to copy the experiment. Throughout it all, some fascinating history and intriguing ideas about how human minds from the depths of the past have shaped what we see and understand today. The overall idea I came away with was that no matter which way we look at the animal, we only see a part of it, what we think of it, never completely what the wolf truly is in and of himself. Some part of the animal will always remain a mystery to us, and Lopez seems content to leave it that way.

Rating: 3/5      308 pages, 1978

Women who Run with the Wolves

by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

This is a heavy book. Rich indeed. One you have to read slowly, take in pieces, ponder over. I'm not sure I understood all the things Estes was getting at, and its definitely a book that requires a re-read, if not many. In a nutshell, Estes examines and analyzes fairytales, myths and folktales in the context of what they can teach about the inner lives of women. It reminded me a lot of Care of the Soul, a book I haven't read since high school. In each segment of the book, Estes examines a particular fairy tale (often several related tales or different versions as well) and goes into great depth about the wisdom and insight it can convey about such things as finding inner strength, recognizing things that take you away from your true self, enduring and continuing on in the face of difficulties, recognizing people you feel kinship with, finding and drawing upon your creative energy and so on. The ways and manners in which women expresses themselves and mine their inner strengths are myriad, and Estes recognizes that. She presents a lot of tales I was completely unfamiliar with, and explains others in ways I had never considered before. I was a bit surprised to find some other reviewers disagreed entirely with her viewpoint, said she forced and changed the stories to say what she wanted, diverted from their original meaning. But I just took it to be part of the power of storytelling, to use stories and word imagery to communicate something strong and lasting. Oh, and there are many comparisons to wolves and how they live. Estes calls the feminine soul your inner Wild Woman, who is keen and responsive and fierce in ways like the wolf...

So is it a bunch of interpretive hogwash, or something profoundly insightful? I guess it depends on the reader. For myself, I found quite a bit to take away and ponder at length, and I am keeping this book on my shelf to delve into again someday.

this is what 926 books look like

all piled up in one room, waiting for shelving to be installed.

There's another few dozen TBR books under the bed as well

this stack next to my smaller aquarium

and my regular TBR shelf that's full of clutter because I don't have things all organized and put away yet. Oh, and the count is off- some more books here on the floor in front of little shelf that my father-in-law gave me (unfortunately I won't be keeping most of them- half are of a genre I don't usually read, and the other half books I know I love- because I already own copies of them!)

And last of all, the book I'm currently reading. It's taking me a long time to get through this one, but what a fantastic read!

Mother West Wind's Children

by Thornton W. Burgess

Following Mother West Wind, these are more "why" stories that describe animal traits in a fanciful manner. The bear hibernates as punishment for being a mean-spirited glutton, the rabbit has long ears so others will know he's an eavesdropper and a gossip and so on. I think my favorite was the one about why the toad swallows his old coat -it was a little closer to actual nature. Through most of these stories Grandfather Frog is the one who holds knowledge, he will share his stories with eager listeners if given a little respect and a gift of fat green flies to eat. The wind and breezes are personified, and there were a few forest characters I didn't quite recognize (I think this is one of Burgess' earlier works). I haven't read any Burgess in a while, and this doesn't quite live up to what I remember enjoying. But it was still nice and of course an easy distraction to dip in and out of.

Rating: 3/5        156 pages, 1911

Pigs Don't Fly

by Mary Brown

A story set in medieval times. This girl grows up daughter of the village whore, and is left bereft when her mother dies. She is pretty much shouldered out of town, and sets off on the road seeking her fortune- a husband, really, because that's what her mother taught her to aspire to- find a good husband. She wears a magic ring left by her unknown father, turns out it allows her to communicate with animals. So a menagerie slowly gathers- first a dog becomes her companion, then a young mare, both sensible animals to have on a journey. But she also collects a tortoise, a wounded pigeon and a strange creature found miserably exploited for display in a fair- a pig with wings. And innocently falls head over heels in love with a knight she meets on the road. Ignorant infatuation, really. The guy was a bore, and not very nice to her at first. But he needs her because when set upon by robbers he sustains a head injury, goes suddenly blind and looses his memory. She promises to help him find his original home, and cares for him (and all the animals) on the journey...

Well. She's smart and kindhearted and a bit naive, but also overweight and considers herself unattractive (often comes across as desperate) and mentions a lot about being glad the knight is blind, so he won't mind being with her. The hardships of the road eventually get her fit again, but she doesn't realize it until the end. Some of the things that happen in the story I saw coming, others really surprised me. Aside from all these interesting descriptions of nature and weather and how crops are brought in and how travelers are treated and survival travelling afoot in medieval times. They have quite a few run-ins with thieves, soldiers, greedy rich people who should have been their kind hosts, women who turn out to be jealous and spiteful, a ghost in a ruined castle (which I thought at first was a vampire?), a strange little man who rules the forest and other odd magical things. Not the least of which was the flying pig. I did not figure out what the pig really was until the very end- and that became the most interesting part of the book. Curiously, as each creature found what it sought and left the travelling companions- the pigeon a flock to join, the tortoise its proper habitat, the mare her herd, etc- they all had to settle for a less-than-perfect outcome- and yet were content and willing to put up with shortcomings. Our narrator is pulled up short when she realizes at the end that the knight she fell in love with at first sight -now that he appreciates her- is not whom she loves, that a merchant met along the way who proposed to her isn't her cup of tea either, so what will she do? (ahem- does she really need a husband?) The ending begged for a sequel, which I bet I would find a lot more interesting, the way it was leaning.

Rating: 3/5      370 pages, 1994