A Readabout Before Our Walkabout in Australia

Now that Simon’s nine and a good swimmer, it was time to go check out the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. When I think of Oz, I think of animals first, so that’s where we started our reading. I had read Bill Bryson’s “In a Sunburned Country” travelogue years ago. This time, I checked out the Book CD (part 1) and (part2) to hear Bill read his own funny stories and droll musings about the land down under. I did wish he hadn’t kept going on about all the poisonous animals that could get you!

Illustrators Ted and Betsy Lewin also travelled to Australia, and painted watercolours of the animals they found. The result is “Top to Bottom Down Under.” The text in their picture book was interesting and amusing, such as noting that the water in the toilet swirls in the opposite direction when you flush it! They also write, “Early explorers asked the aborigines the name of the “jumping animal”. They answered “kangaroo” which means “I don’t understand your question.”

Another picture book we enjoyed was Alison Lester’s “Are We There Yet? : a Journey Around Australia”. It’s the true story of a six month trip her family took all around the country. The comic strip story of their trip helped us pick where we wanted to travel.

The library has many good information books about the animals you will find both on the land and in the water (but save the shark books until AFTER you return!) I’m going to go with a book about wombats for my next recommended read, both because wombats surprised me by being much bigger than I expected, and because the drawings are so charming in “Wombat Walkabout”. Carol Diggory Shields writes a counting book about a dingo stalking some resourceful wombats. It’s illustrator Sophie Blackall’s cute wombats that stick in my mind. However, it was too babyish for my 9 year old son, so read it to a younger audience.

Simon preferred “Toad Rage” by Morris Gleitzman, a goofy novel about a cane toad who wants to be a mascot in the Olympics. This Division 2 appropriate novel has a helpful glossary in the back with Australian lingo explained like “Stack me.” Learning all the shortcut lingo was part of the fun of travelling. As was trying out Australian “lollies” (candy).

Our family highlights? It was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef from the smaller town of Port Douglas in the northeast of the country. It takes an hour to get to the reef by boat, but the sheer size and complexity of the reef is astounding. Searching out animals was our other focus and joy. Seeing a four foot tall cassowary bird and chick in the wild (Dad raises the young) , wild budgies and parakeets zooming around in groups, patting a kangaroo, and seeing our first platypus in a zoo after a fruitless search along a stream all made me stop and think Wow- we’re so lucky. Even that poisonous red bellied black snake doesn’t seem so bad now that we’re back home reminiscing. We were scarier to him than he to us, as were the sharks that zipped away on the reef.

Check out this absolutely beautiful book that has recently arrived at the library.

Arctic Eden "is a stunning celebration of the Arctic by its most passionate explorer. Jerry Kobalenko describes a series of journeys he has taken over the past twenty years around the Canadian High Arctic by foot, skis, kayak, and ship that provide a multifaceted view of this most beautiful and most vulnerable part of the Arctic. Combining natural history, exploration, and personal experiences gathered during twenty years of Arctic travel, the book also contains magnificent photographs of the region, capturing wildlife such as walrus, muskoxen, and Arctic wolves and stunning geographical features from towering icebergs to virgin snowscapes..." (Syndetic)

Jerry has been interviewed by Canadian Geographic. During his recent author reading at Central Library, which was informative and entertaining, he demonstrated his vast knowledge and love of the North. As his wife says, "His spiritual home is Ellesmere Island

These are some of the new books on environmental topics on our shelves. Place a hold to pick them up at the branch of your choice!

Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril Kathleen Dean Moore & Michael P. Nelson, Editors

Over eighty visionaries—naturalists, theologians, activists, scientists, business leaders, elected officials, and writers—join together in Moral Ground to urge moral responsibility to the planet in the face to daunting environmental destruction. Their stories, letters, economic analyses, poems, essays and proclamations call us to do the right thing for the planet, its animals, plants and people.

Sustainable Event Management: A Practical Guide by Meegan Jones

Jones takes you through all aspects of event planning—energy, transport, water, waste, supply chains and communications—with a green lens. You’ll find checklists and tools for measuring performance, along with real-life case studies from various events like Burning Man (US), Glastonbury Festival (UK), and Big Day Out Festival (Australia).

The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget by Leda Meredith

Learn how to incorporate more locally grown foods into your meals, affordably and conveniently with this New York City locavore and edible and medicinal plant instructor.

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith

Keith examines the myth of vegetarianism: that a plant-based diet can feed the world and save the planet and argues that if we are to “save this planet, our food must be an act of profound and abiding repair: it must come from inside living communities, not be imposed across them.” Well written, and deeply personal, it’s another manifesto to eating locally.

rebar: modern food cookbook by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz

This book has been around since 2001, but we’ve just purchased some shiny new copies. The original rebar opened in 1988 in Victoria. More than two decades later the restaurant is going strong in new digs and is a west coast institution. Recreate their legendary dishes with this cookbook.

The Hybrid House: Designing with Sun, Wind, Water and Earth by Catherine Wanek

Hybrid houses incorporate smart design, energy-sipping construction techniques and home-generated power. The houses in this book, from across North America and Europe are also jaw-droppingly gorgeous. They feel healthy just to look at, never mind live in.

Travel the roads of Alberta with Edmonton travel writer Elizabeth Oliver in Joan Donaldson-Yarmey's new mystery, Only Shadow in the House. In the sequel to "Illegally Dead" Elizabeth travels north and east of Edmonton to such locales as Redwater and Wainwright.

Elizabeth "is excited to get back on the open road to research a new article when, suddenly, an unexpected romance leads to a new murder mystery!

Though she is determined to stay focused on her writing, Elizabeth can't ignore the familiar goose bumps she feels when handsome wheelchair basketball coach Jared asks for her help to find out the truth about his mother's death. Once Elizabeth and Jared arrive in Redwater and begin to ask difficult questions about the past, they realize that not everyone wants this mystery to be solved... Can Elizabeth uncover the truth, and will her new relationship survive the investigation?" (Sumach Press)

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey, the author of the Back Roads series of books, has travelled the highways and byways of Alberta. She has written a number of books in this series, including Back Roads of Northern Alberta and Back Roads of Southern Alberta. Her books talk about the museums, parks, churches, early heritage or just the beautiful scenery along various routes.

The City of Winnipeg recently began massive upgrades to their bike and pedestrian infrastructure. While some 'Peggers are wild with joy, others are just wild. Some commuters are upset and complaining of gridlock due to construction while some businesses are filing lawsuits seeking damages and demanding the road changes be reversed.

I have to admit I was surprised to hear about the extent of the opposition to Winnipeg's infrastructure changes. But I shouldn’t have been, considering that snow removal on our streets was a recurrent election theme in our own municipal elections last month. Nothing enrages people faster than being stuck in traffic.

Modifying our urban infrastructure to support more active transportation is no easy feat. Just ask Michael Hayes, Director of TransActive Solutions and a leading expert on active transportation in Canada. He’ll be giving a presentation on active transportation on Thursday November 25^th here at Central. Come and find out how we can avoid roadblocks to active transportation in Calgary.

What is active transportation?

“Active transportation is any form of human-powered transportation. It is any trip made for the purposes of getting yourself, or others, to a particular destination – to work, to school, to the store or to visit friends. As long as it is “active”, you can choose the mode – walking, cycling, wheeling, etc. Walking and cycling are the most popular forms of active transportation. It can also involve combining modes such as walking/cycling with public transit” – Public Health Agency of Canada

Active Transportation with Michael Hayes

Central Library
Thursday November 25^th
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
4^th Floor Meeting Room
Admission is free and there is no registration required