(A) Whale for the Killing

As a writer, my A to Z challenge is going to be about books, characters, TV shows and movies that have impacted me somehow. Enjoy! Be sure to check out Lee’s blog to find more bloggers taking on this challenge!

A Whale for the Killing

(source - GoodReads)

This is the last Farley Mowat book on my list. As you can tell, his work really impacted me. This is another true tale – this time of a whale that gets trapped by the tides. This book shows us all sides of the human experience. On the one hand we have people working desperately to save this poor, scared creature. On the other, we have people having fun with their guns using it for target practice. Details of whaling practices are interspersed with the narrative – sometimes enough to make you ill. Another powerful read. Another powerful message that we’re not nearly the species we should be.

Any favourite reads of yours have environmental/social messages?

Virunga

As a writer, my A to Z challenge is going to be about books, characters, TV shows and movies that have impacted me somehow. Enjoy! Be sure to check out Lee’s blog to find more bloggers taking on this challenge!

Virunga

(source)

This is another Farley Mowat masterpiece. It’s the story of Dian Fossey’s life and death and it combines Mowat’s narrative with excerpts from Fossey’s diaries. Fossey spent most of her life studying the mountain gorillas in Africa. She was an incredible woman with strong passions. Her life wasn’t easy – and she didn’t always make it easy for those around her. This book is filled with powerful messages and strong themes and is one book I wish everyone would read. Her murder has never been solved, probably because there were so many people who profited from her death – and so much money (& politics) working against her. This is a hard hitting book – we need to treat ourselves, other people and species and our planet much better than we do.

What's a hard hitting book you think everyone should read?

Never Cry Wolf

As a writer, my A to Z challenge is going to be about books, characters, TV shows and movies that have impacted me somehow. Enjoy! Be sure to check out Lee’s blog to find more bloggers taking on this challenge!

Never Cry Wolf

(source)

Wow. This book was my first introduction to Farley Mowat’s work. It’s based on his experiences being sent to the Canadian north to find out why the wolves were destroying the herds of caribou. Mowat lived in the remote parts of our country for a year and found out the wolves were doing nothing of the kind. It’s an incredible tale – even better because it’s true. So many great scenes that had me laughing out loud. And it’s another book that will make you think – and quite possibly change your perspective. This is not the only time this incredible author will show up in my challenge posts!

Do you know any of Mowat’s work? Have you seen the movie based on the book?

Canadian Authors, Eh?

Happy Canada Day! Even if you're not Canadian, you can join the celebration. Maybe some maple syrup with your pancakes, tortiere for lunch, or a little ice-wine or local brew later on with the fireworks :)

In honour of the day, I'd like to spotlight a few of my favourite Canadian authors.

All-time fave for me has to be Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables will always be one of my favourite books. I devoured the entire series when I was a pre-teen. And then I read them again. And again. Great characters! Anne is wonderful - fun and flawed. The writing style is different from what sells today - I seem to remember the first sentence being something like 20 lines long - but the story is timeless.

Margaret Atwood is my favourite poet. I read The Circle Game in high school and was literally blown away. It didn't rhyme! It wasn't about heartbreak! It was modern! It made me think! These were huge revelations to me. I'd enjoyed poetry, but Margaret Atwood convinced me it was something to love. She came to my hometown when I was much younger and did a poetry reading. Awesome stuff! She writes great novels too, but it was her poetry that hooked me.

Robert Munsch writes incredible books for kids. Every primary teacher I know has a box filled with Munsch books. Classics! Paper Bag Princess, Thomas' Snowsuit, Mud Puddle and Murmel, Murmel, Murmel are just a few of my favourites.

Farley Mowat is another timeless author. Reading Never Cry Wolf made me aware of the environment and how humanity is messing it up long before it became the popular thing to do. A Whale for a Killing is beautiful and haunting. I can read his works over and over again. His retelling of Dian Fossey's life in Virunga is another masterpiece.

Gordon Korman is a fantastic MG author. His MacDonald Hall series featuring Bruno & Boots is a riot. His newer adventure series are great to entice reluctant readers. It's easy to turn kids onto reading when you have a bunch of Korman's books available. I was lucky enough to hear him speak years back and have a signed copy of Bugs Potter to show for it! :)

Monica Huges is the last one I'll talk about today. She writes terrific science fiction for kids. Her Invitation to the Game is a fabulous read set in the near future. The twist halfway in always shocks the kids and makes them think about what we're doing to our world. She has a number of terrific books for young adults.

I could go on, but I won't :)

So do you have any favourite Canadian authors? Have you read any of mine?

Happy Canada Day, everyone! And Happy 4th of July weekend to my American friends! Party weekends all around! Anyone else celebrating this weekend?