Released April 2008 (Douglas & McIntyre) * 64 pages * ISBN 13: 9781553653721
I got the book for a number of reasons: it’s Haida art, Canadian, and environmental. The artist, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas infuses personality into his animals through facial expressions and posture using Haida style illustrations. While these illustrations border more on the traditional style similar to the cover, Yahgulanaas has also developed Haida Manga which can been seen on HaidaManga.com (Yahgulanaas has a Haida manga book coming out in 2009 which I will be looking for).
This is a very slim volume at 64 pages with illustrations. The parable itself is 20 pages. The rest of the book consists of a foreword by Green Belt Movement founder Wangari Maathai and an afterword. The afterword includes a piece on universal responsibility by the Dalai Lama and a piece on the power of individuals by Yahgulanaas. There is also an essay about the role of hummingbirds in the lore of various cultures and some biographical notes on the contributors.
I was a bit taken aback to find that the source for the biographical notes and the role of hummingbirds piece was, in part, a website listed at the end of each piece. This is something that I am not used to seeing in print books and left me slightly uncomfortable in terms of the reliability of the information in the essays. I was surprised to see any sources listed, as it’s not really the sort of book you would expect references in, and doubly surprised to see websites referenced. This is, however, a fairly minor quibble.
On the whole it is a beautiful book produced in an environmentally-friendly manner, according to the publisher, which fits nicely with the message. This book is an introduction and reminder about environmental responsibility and the power of one individual that is accessible to all ages through the parable and beautiful art.
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