climate change

Picture books – purposeful books

Linda J

I have been so lucky to receive 2 of the picture books shortlisted for the CBCA awards this year. And both are magical reads.

‘Just One Bee’ by Margrete Lamond, Anthony Bertini and Christopher Nielsen (ill,) follows the determination of a solitary bee to fulfill its purpose in life.

‘In One-bee’s dream, the world is full of flowers…’

One-bee faces opposition and negativity when she meets:

‘a skinny bee,

a shabby bee

a stay-away-from-me bee.’

 

What will happen? (This is often what I ask when reading to young children… don’t you?)

‘Just One Bee’ is a story of hope, the power of dreaming, and working for positive outcomes in life; but perhaps one which needs to be shared with meaningful discussion. It is not a rollicking tale, but one that could inspire those who look at the tiny pieces of our beautiful world, providing usually unseen magic and diversity – and thought for our planet. **

Another mesmerising shortlisted CBCA book is ‘the Boy and the Elephant’ by Freya Blackwood. Showcasing her illustrations, it is a wordless but powerful book.

It follows a young boy – at first through his waking routines – solitary in a busy landscape – to school – at school – at home. His only solace is in a vacant, but verdant, block of land next door, where nature’s friends abound.

Change threatens this solace (what will happen?), when the block is sold. I can imagine asking young readers what they would do, how they would feel, and what this story means to them. Freya uses no words – just intricate illustrations.

The power of picture books.  These, and so many others, transcend younger age groups, but can reach into the young. Put them into the hands of the young, to reach into the hearts of others.

*Anthony Bertini speaks about the value of bees at the end of ‘Just One Bee’ – what they contribute,  the role they play on our planet, and the current threats to their survival.

** What can you do to help bees survive?

*** How do we save our greenery from ‘progress’?

**** Wonder what the other CBCA picture books are like?

Once There Were Wolves

Linda J

Once there were wolves in Scotland – until they were viewed as too great a threat to farmers and their animals. In fact, in 1577, James VI made it compulsory to hunt wolves three times a year.

Thus hunting them was rewarded, and the last wolf was reportedly killed in 1680 in Killiecrankie (though there are reports that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century). The long-term consequence of this was major destruction of woodland, overrun by the deer population and other herbivores. They were no longer culled naturally by wolves, the apex predator in the forest ecosystem.

Biologist Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland, leading a team of scientists which aims to reintroduce the grey wolf into the remote highlands. The team’s aim is twofold – to increase wolf numbers in the wild and to heal the landscape. Inti also needs to heal her twin sister, Aggie.

Not unexpectedly, the local farmers and villagers are very wary of the scientists’ plans, fearing their animals and families might fall prey to the wolf packs which are to be introduced. They remain blind to the true nature of wolves and their place in nature.

Inti’s passion for her wolves is deep, and due to a rare condition of mirror-touch synaesthesia, she can even sense their feelings, as well those of others she observes. Her childhood experiences with her twin sister, Aggie, provide some extreme examples of this and have left them both broken to different degrees.

With the disappearance of a local man, the ongoing opposition to their rewilding project comes to a head. Who/what will be blamed?

Naturally, Inti fears for her wolves. But who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Will her upbringing enable her to discover the real truth? And can she bring Aggie back to her senses?

Through Inti’s experiences, Charlotte McConaughy writes a sensitive and sensual discovery of the need to accept the role of wild creatures. Some locals are won over, but fear of the unknown echoes through much of the population.

McConaughy provides both poetic and informative descriptions of the wild, while she slowly reveals details about the nature of the people in this tale. In this, there is much to keep you guessing – and much to give you hope…

For more about the reintroduction of wolves to Scotland, start with this article:

Wolf Reintroduction in Scotland

Stranger than fiction?

Linda J

Imagine having your water supply turned off at home? How would you react? What would you do to cope with a limited water supply?

If you read Neal Shusterman’s novel, Dry, you might get a few ideas. You might also fear that such a thing might actually happen!

It is not unusual to read articles in the news lately discussing the use of scarce resources – water being one of them. Some Australian farmers currently have issues with water allocation, as a result of the drought. Those in political authority endeavour to meter out a scarce resource.

This premise is the basis of the story of Dry – leading to the extreme situation where parts of California simply have their water supply cut off. After a period of guided rationing, the taps simply run dry. This is an extreme level of the Tap-Out.

How people react to and adapt to this is told through the eyes of several young people – brought together as they try to survive the consequences of a community without water…

When their parents fail to return from a drive to get water supplies for the family, Alyssa and her brother Garrett look for them, accompanied by their neighbour, Kelton. This is even though Alyssa is not totally comfortable with Kelton.

Kelton’s family thinks they are not at risk. They have prepared for such times and are able to live off-the-grid, self sufficient in food, energy and water supplies. Because of their survival actions, they are considered ‘odd’ by their community. However, as the water crisis continues, the McCrackens become of greater interest to the locals, but not in a positive way.

Dry is told using various voices – mainly those of Alyssa, Kelton, Henry and Jacqui. These are interspersed with comments from others viewing the unfolding water crisis – reporters, rescue workers and others. The young people in the story are not super heroes who develop extraordinary power to bring life back to normal, but those who respond in a way to keep it real and authentic, with sometimes interesting results.

The Shustermans (father and son, Neal and Jarrod) give the reader lots to think about – when water management IS becoming difficult, towns ARE threatened with limited supplies, and even citizens of developed countries are CHALLENGED to seriously consider how they use natural resources. Living in California, they came up with the idea for Dry having seen and experienced the tragic consequences of local drought and bushfire, and other natural disasters across the globe:

“In California, we are constantly dealing with drought, and the possibility of the state running out of water has become frighteningly close. So that got us thinking about what could happen if so many millions of people were struggling to survive without water.” Source: Fiction Frighteningly Reflects Fact in ‘Dry’

Reflecting on the consequences of our taps being turned off – i.e. no running water supply, is an awkward place to be after reading Dry, but not one we should shirk. Recommended for all – read it before the movie comes out!

# What do you think you would need to do if your regular water supply was cut off?

## What would be the first thing you would do? 

### How might your local community change? be impacted? react? Is Dry realistic about this?