This is the last book I will be reviewing by Elsie Locke. She did write some other bulletins for schools and journals, but I won't review those.
This is a beautifully produced large hardback picture book published in 1975.
It introduces the reader to the world of New Zealand ecology and presents some interesting ideas on how the reader can preserve the environment for future generations.
Here are some pages so you can see how the book reads...
Ecology is personified as a man (like a scarecrow-type figure) and the text is a mix of prose, stories, poetry, a song, and there is even a Psalm from the Bible.
Using all this, Elsie Locke attempts to explain an interesting form of environmental philosophy that combines the Bible, evolution, Maori mythology, Mother Earth, a bit of simplified New Zealand history, and ecology. I found the mix all a bit weird, confusing, and dated.
The book is nearly 50 years old so some of the environment science has changed.
The illustrations by Trevor Lithgow are sumptuous and they fill every page. It was a feast for the eyes and I enjoyed his drawings. What was strange though was that smack-bang in the middle of his drawings was computer clipart. It looked so out of place. These pages don't show it, but I hope you are enjoying the smoking cat!
I'm not going to recommend this book for children, but if you are a book collector it would be a great addition to a collection of weird New Zealand children's literature.
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