Hurry Home, Candy

by Meindert DeJong

I thought perhaps I had read this book as a kid, and it did become more and more familiar the further I went. It's a story of a little stray dog, at first loved by two little kids, but frequently mistreated beaten by their mother (a strict housewife) and then lost during a storm. Wandering between houses until frightened by bigger dogs it ends up half-starving in the countryside. Due to rough treatment when it was very young, the dog is timid and in particular, terrified of brooms (used as punishment) so it avoids people. Happens to find safety from a pack of dogs under a farm woman's wagon, so the dog is travelling with her when an accident occurs, and everyone thinks he is her dog. While the woman is in the hospital he's taken to the dog pound, where although the surroundings and noise are terrifying, for the first time the little dog starts to respond to kindness from the pound man. But there are always brooms around, and the dog's phobia causes him to flee and hide again. He finally gets adopted by a retired ship captain, who looses him (once again, because of a broom). Then an incident with bank robbers get published in the newspapers, and the dog happened to be there, and the original children who had him as a little puppy see the pictures. They also see that the captain is offering a reward for his return. The kids don't care about their lost puppy anymore, they want new bicycles so go looking for the puppy in hopes of the reward money. Eventually it's another woman in the neighborhood who saw the dog scavenging around her back porch earlier in the story, who coaches the children on how to catch the frightened dog (but they are inept at following her directions), and helps the captain lure him home again. The dog gets there of his own accord, the captain finally recognizes his broom phobia, banishes brooms from his house, and now the little dog has a place to belong, without fear.

Yeah, it sounds rather convoluted and the parts at the end where all the different people who had seen or helped the dog came together to get him found and back to his new home, was a bit too convenient. But it is a really tender story showing things from the dog's perspective, how easily a fear can get instilled in a young animal and affect its life for a long time, while people don't realize the reasons behind its behavior.

I think this author often tended to write books about down-trodden or misunderstood animals; the other one I've read by him is about a stray dog that starts hanging out around a chicken coop- I really like that one. And others have titles such as: Billy and the Unhappy Bull, The Little Stray Dog and The Cat That Walked a Week (to find its way home?) This one, Hurry Home, Candy, was a Newbery Honor book.

Rating: 3/5        244 pages, 1953

You Will Be My Friend!

by Peter Brown

Lucy the bear wants to make a new friend. So she visits all the forest animals, eager and friendly. But a bit lacking in social skills. She's too boisterous and talkative for most of them, I can exactly picture what kind of outgoing, slightly annoying four-year-old child this bear personifies. The pictures of Lucy trying to squeeze into a rabbit's hole, belly-flopping into a frog puddle and trying to give a skunk a bath are cute and funny. She's well-meaning and nothing but persistent- but the other animals all look annoyed or at best, startled by her tactics. Getting frustrated, Lucy starts demanding that the other animals play with her, but of course that doesn't work either. Finally, when she least expects it, a flamingo comes along who likes to play Lucy's games. Phew, a happy ending!

Really cute book, and I'm sure lots of kids know what it's like to be in Lucy's shoes (or have been on the receiving end). It's by the same author who did The Curious Garden.

This book was borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5      36 pages, 2011

The Dog Who Came to Stay

by Hal Borland

This quiet book is a story of life in the countryside, life with a good farm dog. Well, I don't know if I could entirely call it a quiet book, as there are plenty of dogfights, fierce encounters with bobcats and porcupines, confrontations with rude trespassing hunters and poachers. But overall, it has a calm, quiet voice. It's full of nature writing- just as much a story of the changing seasons, the wildlife and forest around the farm as it is about the dog. How he came to their farm, a wandering stray who gradually settled into their lives. The story tells of the dog's personality, his intelligence and flaws, his run-ins and friendships with other dogs in the neighborhood, his skills at hunting and his yearly battle against woodchucks (when the dog saw that his people didn't want woodchucks in the garden, he took it upon himself to go after any woodchucks in the area). It's obviously a book written from a different era; the dog is disciplined with slaps and a rolled-up newspaper (but his new owners are concerned that he shows fear of brooms and mops- they surmise he must have once been beaten with those objects, which they consider abuse). The dog is welcomed in the house but forbidden certain rooms and sleeps outside in a refurbished woodshed- oddly enough people complain about this on other reviews sites but if you pay attention in the book, the author tells how when the weather was particularly bad or the dog recuperating from injuries, they invited him to sleep in the house and the dog made it apparent he preferred to sleep in the hay in his shed. (Where he was locked in to keep him from roaming at night and being a nuisance to neighbors or wildlife). One aspect of the book I most liked was reading about how readily the man could communicate with his dog, understanding its intentions and wants from body language, facial expression, the tone of its bark or whimper, general demeanor. I think any dog owner can appreciate the depth of connection a person and dog can develop.

You might be glad to know that although the dog is old and showing his age near the end of the book, it does not end with his death but shows him gracefully entering his 'golden years' in the home he has chosen.

In many ways this book reminded me of Where the Red Fern Grows, but a more in-depth story written for adults.

Rating: 3/5     192 pages, 1961

something that is not books

I am having fun getting back into an old favorite passtime: jigsaw puzzles. My four-year-old is pretty good with puzzles and becoming bored with the twenty or fifty-piece ones she can do alone and even our small collection of 100-piece puzzles she still needs help with. She wants to do "the BIG puzzles" with me. I have a small collection, some of them I've had since I was a kid myself.

I'm culling some out now and hoping to eventually acquire new ones. I want to keep puzzles I'll enjoy doing again and again (similar to how I keep books I want to re-read) and I've come to realize I am particular about my puzzles, what kind of challenge I like, and what makes them enjoyable or frustrating. I like a certain piece size and number- less than 500 and it's not challenging enough, more than 1500 and it starts to feel tedious. I don't like puzzles with uniform cuts (all pieces having two 'bumps' and two 'holes' and they go in straight rows like a grid) but ones that have unique, funny shapes that you can eyeball and try to match from the jumble on the table.

I'm also particular about the kind of picture- I want something that is striking or pretty to look at when it's done and something that has a variety of visual textures and colors which makes it fun to put together. So even though I love M.C. Escher's work, I found the puzzle of his House of Stairs incredible frustrating to assemble and I don't think I'll ever work that one again! I also don't like them so tiny and minute in detail it's like a find-the-hidden-object game. The one exception so far is a 1500 piece jigsaw I have of the painting Proverbidioms by T. E. Breitenbach. My great-aunt had a print of this on her wall and I remember as a kid always staring at it, trying to figure out what sayings all the images represented. I was delighted to find it as a puzzle. My ten-year-old enjoyed helping me put this one together a few years ago, and we tried again to identify all the sayings (and failed). It took us a long time, too.

So. I'm thinking of maybe joining a puzzle swap site, if I don't just donated my unwanted puzzles. I have a number of puzzles on my shelf that are now in the "iffy" category- not sure if I want to keep them or not. I decided to work them each again, to make a decision. It's also a fun activity my youngest enjoys doing together. I've done them all before, so to make it a bit more challenging I deterred from my normal strategy, which usually is: make the boarder, then sift out pieces that have the greatest constrast, or the most interest (faces in particular) and work out from there going from specifics to general. Thus the background usually gets done last. This time I decided to do it backwards. I still made the boarder first, but then deliberately worked the background, going general to specific. It was still fun, and made putting this puzzle together take about a week (done in many short sittings) rather than just a few days.

I also had fun taking photos of the assembly stages (click on the first image to see larger and use arrows to skip through them):

There's a little family story behind this puzzle. I used to get puzzles at garage sales and thrift shops (never again- too often they have missing pieces). This one had five missing pieces and my older daughter (four or five at the time) was sooo disappointed. She loved the cute kittens. So I made substitute pieces out of cardboard covered with a layer of white paper, colored with colored pencils and sealed with clear packing tape, burnished with the back of a spoon. I will probably never do that again- these are rather large pieces and it was still very hard to cut the tiny shapes right. But they do fit in the puzzle, even after re-working it a few times over the years. Can you spot them?

I've hung this puzzle up on my four-year-old's wall, just like I once did with her older sister. She was delighted. We'll be starting another BIG puzzle soon. I might keep sharing pics- it's fun to do and I thought you might be interested in occasionally seeing something other than books here.

Magic by the Lake

by Edward Eager

The kids from Half Magic go to a lake for summer vacation. And of course the lake is magic, they find out all about it from a talking turtle. Thus follows a vacation full of adventures. The kids are a little wiser than last time- they know magic doesn't often turn out how you expect, and that there are rules to follow, but they still make errors in judgement and try to bend the rules or control what type of adventures they will have. All kinds of mishap and hilarity ensues. They meet a mermaid, have a run-in with pirates, visit the South Pole, seek buried treasure, get captured by cannibals, hide from Ali Baba's thieves in a cave, and in one curiously different episode, two of the girls unwittingly wish they were sixteen and go off on a midnight boat ride with boys (who of course don't realize they're flirting with some little girls!)

The children are very well-read and sharp on history- they keep thinking of famous stories they want to be a part of, or moments in history they want to visit. I like this, but wonder how much of it modern kids would pick up on? The reference to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, for example, I only recognized because I read the book just seven years ago- I didn't know it at all when I first read Magic by the Lake as a kid, and surely missed many others.

It's a fun story and the characterization is done really well- these kids act like real children- squabbling and being snooty to each other and wanting excitement and dreading chores and so on. But for some reason I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first one. Maybe because some of the attitudes are so dated, the scenes with cannibals and "natives" can be painful to read, for example. On another note, there was one sentence that made me blink, completely taken aback. It mentioned a lovely summerhouse by the lake where one could enjoy watching the sunset and listening to the water and the mosquitoes. I cannot imagine a single person who would find sitting with mosquitoes pleasant!

Rating: 3/5       190 pages, 1957

Greenhouse

by Gail E. Christianson

This book tells the history of the phenomenon global warming. How it began to occur, and how we first started to notice it, and a little bit about what we might do about it. Historically it starts at a point just prior to the industrial revolution, detailing all the changes in how mankind has used and created energy, tinkering we've done with fuels and chemicals and other things. And all the bad it has done to the environment. And how much it's been misunderstood or ignored, and the politicking behind making people think it's a non-issue and so on. The history stuff was really interesting, because it connected a lot of ideas and reasons that I'd never realized were related. Also fairly dull to read. I did want to finish it, to see the final points, but it was hard to get there. Of course since the book is over a decade old it's not up-to-date. Some things are, I believe, worse than the author had surmised they would become. Other things he pointed at quickly declining or going extinct, are still here or on the road to recovery. I appreciated that it was pointed out where the science was inconclusive, and where some people thought a warming climate would actually be beneficial. It strikes me as rather crazy that in the 1800's some scientists were already measuring changes in the atmosphere, but they failed to realize it could have such a negative impact.

So much stuff in this book, no way I can relate even a small part of it. Lots of sobering things, and it touches on many other interesting topics including evolution, the rapid growth of the industrial revolution, all the incidents that triggered new inventions therein, pollution, wildlife migrations and scientific feuding to name a few.

Rating: 2/5       305 pages, 1999

the 56th TBR post

(yikes)

No Better Friend by Robert Weintraub- Bermudaonion's Weblog
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson- A Striped Armchair
Once Upon a Flock by Lauren Scheuer
Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson from Things Mean a Lot
A Brave Vessel by Hobson Woodward- James Reads Books
Zoobiquity by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers
Folks This Ain't Normal by Joel Salatin
From Elephants to Mice by James Mahoney

The Indoor Naturalist by Gale Lawrence- A Striped Armchair
Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis- The Indextrious Reader
Swarm by Lauren Carter - Jules' Book Reviews
Steering Toward Normal by Rebecca Petruck - Caroline Bookbinder 

Half Magic

by Edward Eager

Four bored children find an ancient worn coin and discover that it grants wishes- but the tricky part is that only half the wish comes true. Sometimes this is in a sensible way- if they wish to go a mile, they only go half the distance, but other times it is confounding with hilarious results. What does half a talking cat sound like? How do you only half remember your family (someone in a fit of anger wishes she belonged to a different family). The kids get into all kinds of interesting adventures- some intentional and some not. They travel back in time to joust with Sir Launcelot, stop some thieves in a jewelry store, get stranded in a desert and much more. Though they try to take turns and come up with fun things to do together, it becomes much more than just a way to fill a boring summer with excitement, and they have to put things right in the end.

I got this book at a used sale thinking my older daughter would enjoy it, but sat down and read it in one morning by myself. And it's great. Laugh-out-loud funny in parts, good characterization, a solid lesson about getting what you wish for. There's even some subtle family dynamics and pointers on behaving decently to other people, with the siblings squabbling, helping younger ones (or not) and the oldest daughter upset at her mother's interest in a possible suitor (only she of all the children remembers their deceased father). Even though it was published in the early fifties and is set a few decades earlier (motor vehicles are a new invention, messages are sent by telegram and when the children go to the movies, it's silent pictures so they get cross with the youngest for begging to have the words on the screen read out loud!) it's written in a way that still feels completely accessible.

I am pretty sure I once read this book from my elementary school library- I distinctly remember the cover. But I had forgotten almost everything except the basic premise, and I'm sure most of the references went over my head back then- the author pays homage to E. Nesbit, Lewis Carroll, Hans Christian Anderson, T.H. White, Little Women and many other authors and literary works. It helps that the kids in the story love to read, and another main character owns a bookshop!

Rating: 4/5      192 pages, 1954

more opinions:
Shelf Love
Avid Reader
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Mormon Diaries

by Sophia L. Stone

Having grown up in the LDS church and parted ways in my adult years, I could relate to a lot in this short, soul-searching memoir. My experiences and path were different than hers (I didn't have the same feminist leaning, for example) yet a lot of things were the same. She describes very well what it is like for many women in the church, the often not-so-subtle pressures to conform, the doctrines held dear to one's heart. Her growth as a person unfolds, from a young girl unsure of herself and eager to follow instruction to a bold woman searching for a way to find truth and follow her own conscience. Questioning the church and her upbringing of course was very upsetting to her family and I particularly admire how she managed to make her feelings clear to her young children while at the same time nurturing their trust and growing faith. I also admired that she did not let her disillusionment with one particular religion seriously affect her belief in God, but found spirituality beyond one set of rules and guidelines.

I like this author's voice. Succinct and clearly descriptive as well. She writes very honestly, I can only imagine how painful and cathartic it must have been to put these words to paper. At the same time I wished for a bit more depth, for more of her own words and perhaps fewer quotes from church authorities and scriptures (although these were very useful in clarifying the religious stance and illustrate well the depth and importance of spirituality in her life). A good read, one that was hard to put down. It's a story of unfolding awareness, emotional and spiritual growth, and in spite of the pain and struggles, ends with a sense of joyful optimism.

This book was given to me by a friend.

Rating: 3/5      194 pages, 2012

more opinions:
Big Al's Books and Pals

still book blogging

for eight years now. My blogiversary was last wednesday, and I didn't even notice (I was actually gone on a trip). And like before, there's not much to note, things are pretty much the same. The book stacks are piling up, the to-be-read list is getting longer, and I still stand before my bookshelves some days and just breathe a big sigh, admire all their patient spines and remember why I want to read them again and again. I don't think this love will ever die.

Thanks to all of you for joining me on this never-ending journey between the pages, and fostering my bookish habits! Those lists are every-longer because of you (I rarely browse shelves at random anymore).

A Child of the Northeast

by Kampoon Boontawee
translated by Susan Fulop Kepner

This book is about life in a small, poor village in nothern Thailand. The young boy Koon is its central character. His rural village is very poor and they have been facing years of drought. Nearby water sources have dried up and people have begun moving away from the village- they can no longer catch fish or grow rice. Koon's father teaches him how to find other things to eat- they hunt lizards and frogs, catch cicadas, crickets and gather ants' eggs. They also eat many kinds of small birds, owls, snakes, mongoose and other wildlife. Koon is a good-natured boy and usually obedient to his parents; he is always interested in learning how to prepare certain kinds of food and make necessary things- a new roof for their house, baskets, fishnets, etc. His close friend is more of a troublemaker and a braggart, providing strong contrast to Koon's character. When the drought gets particularly bad, Koon and his family travel to a river where they can catch and preserve fish, bringing back bounty to trade for rice and other goods. Through the story various dynamics in the village unfold- conflict between men who want to lead in different ways, disagreements between neighbors, the hasty marriage of a young couple and issues they work through during their first year together as man and wife. The constant poking fun and teasing, saving face and nursing pride, vying for attention- this mostly seems to be Koon's young friend but some of the grown men feel acutely the need to be seen important as well. I most admired Koon's mother, who worked hard without complaint and acted gracious to everyone, giving to those in need and rarely finding fault. His father was a constant source of wisdom and strength, knowing when to push on through difficulties and when to step back and let things go (as when a flood tore away their fishing nets). It is a quiet kind of story, one that doesn't seem to have much going on but is an intriguing portrayal of a different way of life.

Rating: 3/5        483 pages, 1994

Catch Me A Colobus

by Gerald Durrell

Here Durrell has his own zoo established, but is working on a tight budget so he outlines how it was set it up as a Trust to get people interested in wildlife conservation to help support the zoo. The book describes their work at the zoo with various wild animals- how they were cared for, dealing with illness and injury, their excitement and feeling of success when some of their animals bred for the first time in captivity: the rare white-eared pheasant, the tapir, Geralda baboon, a chimpanzee, a lioness that had problems giving birth, serval cats and civets. Most of the book though, is about his trips to foreign countries to collect new animals for the zoo. On one trip they had extra complications caused by taking along a film crew, hoping to educate the public about their work via a television program. The most memorable trip was one to Sierra Leone where they acquired leopards, various birds and other animals but the focus was on two types of colobus monkey- beautiful creatures with long silky fur quite unknown (at that time) to the rest of the world. Durrell tells in detail of their efforts to find these animals, to catch enough of them to keep a breeding colony, and the difficulty they had getting the animals adjusted to eating the kinds of food they could be provided with back at the zoo. I admired the fact that when one of the groups of colobus failed to adjust and refused all food to the point of becoming lethargic, he simply let them go again. He also tells of another trip to Mexico where they collected thick-billed parrots but in particular were searching for the teporingo or volcano rabbit- and it proved very difficult to get ahold of. Like all his other books, Gerald entertained me with amusing incidents and lively descriptions of the interesting animals. The last chapter tells of numerous wildlife species he feared would soon go extinct, with a plea for wildlife conservation and financial support to the zoo's trust.

Rating: 3/5     221 pages, 1972

Edith and Mr. Bear

A Lonely Doll story
by Dare Wright

Picture book story of a little doll who lives with Mr. Bear and Little Bear. Mr. Bear comes home from a trip and brings presents- the younger ones clamor for gifts and then argue about whose is better. But the most wonderful thing is a glass-sided clock Mr. Bear bought for himself. Edith is fascinated by the workings of the clock; Mr. Bear puts it up high out of reach. One day when no-one is around Edith climbs up to see the clock closer, and accidentally breaks it. She hides the evidence, and then lies when Mr. Bear asks who did it. She feels bad about lying, but can't admit it and feeling worse and worse, starts being horrid to her friends and can't even enjoy her own birthday party. She decides to run away, but after wandering through the streets half a day cold and lonely of course she goes home again. Mr. Bear has been frantically looking for her. She is welcomed back and finally confesses what she did, all is better now. Well, at least, she made amends. But the story continues a little and you see that Edith isn't perfect- she still does naughty things, quarrels with Little Bear and likes to brag. But she never again lies to Mr. Bear.

The photographs by Dare Wright (a woman) illustrating this story are just lovely. They're made with a real doll and teddy bears (also a live kitten in a few scenes) posing in different situations with tiny props. Although black and white they're very nice and the vintage look is charming.

There's only one picture that looks awkward to me, where Edith has just come home and is standing ashamed in the doorway. Mr. Bear is holding the door open but it looks like he is going to hit her over the head with his pipe!

Reminds me of a children's book in my daughter's collection called Carmen (black and white photos illustrating a story of a lonely girl in a city apartment). I'd like to find the others in this Lonely Doll series. I found this one at the public library, they have a few more.

Rating: 4/5         58 pages, 1964

The Summer of the Falcon

by Jean Craighead George

This is the story of a young girl who trains a falcon with her brothers. June and her family spend their summers in a big house in the country, and her brothers seem to have a regular practice of catching and training various types of hawks. (The forward to the book points out that the story is set in the sixties, when there were no regulations against this). It's a coming-of-age story, showing how June grows up over a period of three summers- from being headstrong, a bit careless and adventuresome, to taking on responsibility in the household and learning some manners as she grows into a young lady (she really resents this transition at first). Most of the book though, is about the work with her bird, a kestrel or sparrow hawk. June is eager to successfully train the bird and prove herself to her brothers, but she tends to make mistakes and neglect the hawk at times- it really tells how much falconry work is about keeping the bird at the right state of hunger or satiety- when hungry it will feel inclined to fly to a lure, when full it can be let loose to sit content and there's no risk of loosing it, for example. I liked the book particularly for the falconry details; the character development is nice too even for such a brief story. Some aspects strongly reflects its timeframe- women were expected to keep house, kids played widely unsupervised (exploring caves and jumping into flooded rivers!) and often got themselves into trouble. There are lighthearted and heavy moments- a party that gets crashed with pranks involving the animals, the children build a clay city and make up a secret language, a family friend dies on a trip- really quite a lot packed into this little book!

Perhaps that's why it felt rushed and some things were never explained, which made me wonder if the author wrote another book about this family? There's not much background on why these kids regularly keep hawks for example, or what June does with her falcon when she's at school during the winter months, I was left puzzled at times. Otherwise, a good read!

Rating: 3/5     153 pages, 1962

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