Wendy Richard Books

Farley's Follies (as the author renames this collection in his foreword) is an enchanting encounter with our Northern Neighbors. After the introduction of the sailing librarian father, and his floating boat-mobile, I was thoroughly locked into the magical land of travel via armchair. Clever illustrations could have (should have?) included a map as these stories take the reader all over Canada: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and the tundra of Hudson Bay. Depression refugees, trading the re-invented fishing boat for the prairie ark/schooner, pet owls, a magic mutt, naturalist training, an artic expedition, sailing adventures, amazingly tolerant and encouraging parents, and letters home from WW2, the reader watches the man emerge in this an exceptional compilation.-Mamalinda

Like most Americans, I had never heard of Farley Mowat until I made the association of the Disney film "Never Cry Wolf" with his name on a book spine one day. I loved the movie, so I figured I might as well try out the book.

I adored Never Cry Wolf, but you often hear that a writer has one good book in him (or her), and after that it is all downhill. Furthermore, I looked in the library catalog and Mowat had dozens of titles! I had no idea which ones to try, they had odd titles! So I picked up this reader, to get an idea which of the titles I might want to pick out.

After reading this collection, I decided I wanted to read them all. Mowat is simply the best Canadian writer, and one of the top of this century, in my humble opinion. I have now read five of his books, and my collection continues to grow. Even the books that are represented as children's books (like The Dog Who Wouldn't Be) are a joy to adults as well.

Mowat has the keen eye of observation that Mark Twain had, but without the viciousness of the satire... he is much more coy and subtle in his musings on families and nature. Many of his works involve the Arctic north, Saskatchewan, the high seas, and animals; but I have yet to find a poorly written chapter in any of his works.

If you want some proof that Mowat is worth buying, pick up this Reader and see for yourself. I read a few small portions to my writers club as samples of excellent writing, and they loved it. It reads smoothly, like a storyteller would speak, like a Garrison Keilor tale.

He is a controversial figure, is my understanding. Purportedly, he is not allowed to visit the United States, because in one book he claimed to shoot his rifle at overflying US warplanes. Who knows if this is true; Mowat admits to a bit of freedom in embellishing a tale; which is only right, since it is more fun that way. Don't worry about these details, just read some of it and enjoy it.

This is a lovely book, thoughtful and enlightening, finding interesting correspondences between the world around us and our interior dramas. Do read it!

This is a lovely book, thoughtful and enlightening, finding interesting correspondences between the world around us and our interior dramas. Do read it!

This is a good beginning book on employee ownership that is written in a down-to-earth style that makes it easy to understand the technical financial and legal jargon. I highly recommend it !

This book is a wonderful step by step how-to book on employee ownership. The best part of it is that it is written in down-to-earth english that makes it very easy to understand the sometimes complex financial and legal jargon.I highly recommend it!

A wonderful world of fantasy revealing the secret world of the elfish. These stories should be made into movies...They would be a huge success!

The first ElfQuest story to be set in the far future, "Jink", a 12-issue series first published between 1994 and 1996, follows the adventures of the title character, an exotic woman of strange powers and questionable parentage, and her lover, Ensign Kullyn Kenn. The first half of the series, covered in this book, describes the couple's effort to stave off a catastrophic space-war between the humans of their world and a mysterious, warlike race called the Neverending. (The second half of the series will be published as the book "Mindcoil" in September.)

First, let it be known that Jink is the most charismatic new ElfQuest character in many years. She is a study in opposites - godlike foresight and amusing improvidence; hard street wisdom and a soft heart; sophistication and innocence - that make her seem at once both most adult and most childlike. The contrasts between she and Kullyn Kenn - hapless and too laid-back by half, yet uncommonly brave and clearheaded - is continually fascinating.

As vividly as the protagonists are presented, the real masterstroke is the portrayal of the "enemies", the Neverending aliens. Wendy Pini, who conceived and co-wrote the story, hints in the Afterword that the culture of the aliens is heavily based on that of the Japanese Empire of the 1930s, a regime then openly committed to world domination. Ingeniously, she presents the aliens as a symbol of the perils of nationalism, and especially of the futility of conquest as a way of life; the plot turns on Jink's revelation to the Neverending warriors that their campaign of space-conquest has not empowered their people, but has instead virtually destroyed it. This leads to a climax as sobering as the early chapters are lighthearted.

Married to this ingenious story is high-quality artwork; though the original color illustrations are presented here in black-and-white, the clarity and precision of the line-art come through. In all, _Jink_, a tale far more than skin deep, points to a fascinating new direction for the ElfQuest saga.

I first read this when I was nine, and a cousin was visiting and had ElfQuest Book 3. It was a brother and sister and they said that it was one of the few things they both liked, just as good for boys and for girls. I read the first 15 pages or so, and I was hooked. It was my first literary obsession--and I have to say I still take all the first 4 out sometimes (though I think that after that the quality of the series went down). Great story, complex with no easy answers or simple good and evil, and female elves get good play. What more could you ask for? And if you like Strongbow this is bar none the best ElfQuest book.

I have been a huge fan of Elfquest ever since I found an earlier hardbound full-color edition sitting on a shelf in my local library at the age of 12. Being a girl who was completely alienated by macho superhero comics, I instantly fell in love with this complex story full of riveting characters, tense action, and steamy sexuality. Both innocent and dark, thrilling and comforting, this story has it all. The artwork is simply gorgeous. While this comic was done years ago in a more traditional format, it converts easily and wonderfully to the manga digest-size due to its early manga influences (in the days when an artist could get ridiculed for liking manga). But while it is definitely influenced by the Japanese style, in never imitates or knocks it off. Instead, artist Wendy Pini stays true to her own unique style, deftly combining beautiful lines with dangerous curves. This is no rip-off, thank god, and no old-fashioned comic, either. It's immortal.

There are many books in this epic series. Start with this one that you are looking at right now, "Elfquest: The Grand Quest". If you like it, you can keep buying the manga editions as they are released, or you can check out the new full-color hardcover edition that has come out, which is absolutely stunning. I believe it's called the "archive edition" or something like that.

Going to Sleep on the Farm is an absolutely wonderful book from cover to cover. The illustrations are breathtaking and the words rhyme with simplistic beauty. It is just the thing to lure your little ones to sleep...works with my 2 year and 4 year old! Plus, the illustrations will lead you to notice subtle changes in perspective as the sun goes down... it's fun for my kids to notice those changes on each page. I happened on this book by chance, at a garage sale, but would pay top dollar for it. It would make a great gift, too!

Book came on time and in the quality I was expecting. Thanks will purchae from here again. Thanx

This book is outstanding in its usefulness for becoming familiar with recent American literature.

Its appropriate selection of authors and works--along with its biographies, preliminary studies and clarifying notes--make this book a "must" for specialists, for scholars of contemporary literature, for students and for universities.

The present volume (the fifth in the collection) undoubtedly has the same advantages and characteristics of the previous volumes.

I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this anthology.

Carlos Francisco MONGE
Professor of Literature