The Sea Wolves
The Salmon Bears
by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read
photographs by Ian McAllister
Orca Book Publishers, 2010
ISBN 978-1-55469-206-4 (Sea Wolves)
ISBN 978-1-55469-205-7 (Salmon Bears)
$19.95 / $18.95, 128 pp / 96 pp, index, ages 8+
These two non-fiction books are illustrated with stunning photographs of the wolves and bears that live in the Great Bear Rainforest on the western edge of Canada. The animals and their habitat, ranging from the top of Vancouver Island to the Alaskan border, exist in a delicate ecological balance that is interwoven with other animals (notably, salmon) and plants in a web of life that has developed over thousands of years. Writing to introduce young readers to this rare and unique ecosystem, the authors are passionate about the beauty of the Great Bear Forest and the importance of protecting this region from harmful human encroachment. They provide much information presented clearly and simply in running text organized in chapters, supplemented with sidebars (Wolf Bites / Just the Bear Facts) and informative captions with the photographs. These books would be useful for classroom units on animals, ecology, wilderness conservation, research skills (gathering facts from non-fiction text) and Canada, and to have on hand to satisfy the personal interests of young people who love to read about animals.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s November 2010 issue.
