| The Whale People Contributor(s): Haig-Brown, Roderick (Author) |
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ISBN: 1550172778 ISBN-13: 9781550172775 Publisher: Harbour Publishing OUR PRICE: $13.46 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2003 Annotation: In "The Whale People," young Atlin must one day succeed his father Nit-gass, a great whaling chief of the Hotsath people. The boy trains for his role with the mixture of yearning and apprehension experienced by every youth racing toward adulthood - except that in Atlin's case, his whole community is depending on his success. With lean, sure-footed prose, Haig-Brown captures the tangled emotions of adolescence, and in the process conveys a vivid portrait of pre-Columbian life on the West Coast. Never preachy or condescending, "The Whale People" is richly furnished with the material and spiritual mainstays of its characters: canoes, harpoons, animals and "tumanos," the personal magic a great whaler and leader must possess. "Timeless" is a term too freely bandied about, but seldom has a story so deftly married the moment with the millennia. Written 40 years ago - it was named Book of the Year for Children by the Canadian Library Association in 1964 - it could be set 400 years ago, yet there is not one quaint or dated sentence in it. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Juvenile Fiction | Historical - Canada - Pre-confederation (to 1867) - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places - United States - Native American - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes - Adolescence & Coming Of Age |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Series: Junior Canadian Classic |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.2" W x 7.9" (0.60 lbs) 206 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Canadian - Ethnic Orientation - Native American - Topical - Adolescence/Coming of Age |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In The Whale People, young Atlin must one day succeed his father Nit-gass, a great whaling chief of the Hotsath people. The boy trains for his role with the mixture of yearning and apprehension experienced by every youth racing toward adulthood - except that in Atlin's case, his whole community is depending on his success. With lean, sure-footed prose, Haig-Brown captures the tangled emotions of adolescence, and in the process conveys a vivid portrait of pre-Columbian life on the West Coast. Never preachy or condescending, The Whale People is richly furnished with the material and spiritual mainstays of its characters: canoes, harpoons, animals and tumanos, the personal magic a great whaler and leader must possess. Timeless is a term too freely bandied about, but seldom has a story so deftly married the moment with the millennia. Written 40 years ago - it was named Book of the Year for Children by the Canadian Library Association in 1964 - it could be set 400 years ago, yet there is not one quaint or dated sentence in it. |
Contributor Bio(s): Haig-Brown, Roderick: - Roderick Haig-Brown (1908-1976) remains one of North America's most popular and best-loved writers about the outdoors. He was born in England and settled in Campbell River, BC, in 1931. He was a dedicated conservationist and a prolific writer, author of many articles and stories and 25 books, including novels, books about sport fishing and stories for young readers, including the classic Saltwater Summer. Haig-Brown also served as a magistrate and as chancellor of the University of Victoria. |