A Net in Time

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The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog through Harbour Publishing. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and it is so much appreciated. 🙂

Are you interested in the First Nations people of Canada?  Want to take in a unique perspective?  Enter in The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog.  I never knew that woolly dogs were a thing for our First Nations people… DID YOU?  Well, if you are like so many of us (I asked my colleagues at work and they too were surprised), come along for the adventure eh? 

The Teachings of Mutton

Basic Details for The Teachings of Mutton

Title: The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog
Author: Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa with Coast Salish Contributors
Publisher: Harbour Publishing Co
Pages: 264
Intended Audience: high-school, young adult, adult, 
Genre: indigenous stewardship, weaving and textile arts, native american biographies, history, northwestern North America,  
Available formats: Kindle, Paperback, 
Received: Paperback
Reviewed for: Harbour Publishing

About the Book

Did you know that there used to be a woolly dog?  It was an integral part of the Salish Community.  In this read by Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa we are privileged to learn more about this dog and the people it was part of.  The woolly dog was bred for thousands of years for its woolly fibres.  These fibres were woven into traditional blankets, robes and regalia. Despite careful efforts to protect this breed by the by Coast Salish peoples, by the 1900s, the Woolly Dog had become so rare it is now considered extinct.

About the Author

Formerly the Director of Research Services, Liz Hammand-Kaarremaa is now retired and spends her time researching the Coast Salish peoples. She holds a Master Spinners Certificate and the textiles of the Coast Salish peoples are naturally a focus for her. Liz was instrumental in identifying a rare blanket in the Burke Museum to be made of Woolly Dog hair.

The Teachings of Mutton

Looking Deeper

Eleven chapters round out this educational read that is filled pictures, illustrations, and maps. As we progress through the chapters we get to see how the wooly dog came to be.

  1. Finding Mutton : The ancient story of Swuq’us
  2. Mutton’s journey to the Smithsonians: The Dog Children and the Original Occupations
  3. The Woolly Dog: The teachings of Fibre
  4. The Wool: The Cultural Importance of Blankets
  5. Where are all the Blankets: Misunderstanding our relationships with the Woolly Dog
  6. Mutton’s Ancient Origins: Connecting to our Ancestors
  7. Other Dogs: The care and Feeding of Dogs
  8. The Diet of Woolly Dogs: The care and Feeding of Dogs
  9. Processing Wool: The impact of Colonialism
  10. What did Woolly Dogs Look like? : Fur Beings and Woven Visions, Connecting with Musquem History
  11. An Ending and a Beginning

I appreciated how as part of the forward she mentioned how she wanted to respect the Coast Salish people.  Recognizing that she has her own preconceptions so hopes to let the Coast Salish people speak with their own words as much as possible.  Recognizing the Mutton may have been the name of this particular Woolly Dog, but wasn’t a name respected by the Coast Salish people. 

A scholarly read

This is a scholarly read, filled with illustrations, pictures, and maps to bring the text to life.  For instance, without this map I wouldn’t have clearly understood the range of the Woolly dog (the yellow area).  For such a niche breed, I didn’t expect that.

Native art featuring the Woolly Dog has a prominent place.  I just loved this inclusion.  Made everything so much better you know? Makes me regret that the Woolly Dog is no more.  It looked like a fun little dog to have around.  Not too big, not to small, and very useful besides! 

These dogs were such an integral part of their community, rather cool to learn about. 

My recommendation

If you want to take an unique look at indigenous peoples of Canada, check out The Teachings of Mutton.  You will find loads of information about the textiles, the geography, and the history of this helpful little dog.   It’s kinda too bad that their usefulness waned.  Technology and imports isn’t always a good thing when it comes to a niche population. 

Seeing the quality of the blankets they made with their wool, makes me wonder if they can use DNA from the blankets to somehow bring them back.  What do you think?

A useful book if studying the First Nations people of British Columbia.  A fascinating book if you love textiles and their history. A wonderful look into a type of dog I’d never heard of before.  Give it a look see,  you won’t regret it! 

A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region

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Disclosure: I received this complimentary product A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region through Harbour Publishing. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and it is so much appreciated. 🙂

MAN…. Sometimes I wish I had a child to homeschool again.   If I did, when going through Canada, and particularly Ontario, A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region would be EVER so useful!  Loaded with activities, tons of easily accessible information, descriptive photos and so much more. You need to check out this delightful book that helps children and youth access the plants growing around them. 

kids guide to the plants of the great lakes region

The Basic Details for A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region

Title: A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region
Author: Philippa Joly, contributing author Danielle Gehl Hagel
Publisher: Harbour Publishing Co
Pages: 224
Intended Audience: grade 3-4, 6-12 years
Genre: plants, Great Lakes, kid’s guide, Nature guide, Botany, homeschool, kid’s activity book, 
Available formats: Kindle, Paperback, 
Received: Paperback
Reviewed for: Harbour Publishing

About the Book and Author

As a clinical and community herbalist, Philippa Joly has her hands in many pots.  She works with individual clients, leads workshops and classes for children and adults, draws nature based pictures, and writes books.  She uses her skills in a variety of ways just like all of us!  🙂   A fellow Canadian she spends her time out in British Columbia. 

A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region is a middle-school friendly introduction to the plants of the Great Lakes Region.  You’ll discover outdoor activities, games, activities and quizzes that make learning about nature fun.  Dig up some roots!  Make some jam! Create a salve to cure an itch.  Discover new berries to eat and to definitely NOT eat!   Foster a love of the outdoors, increase attention spans and physical well-being, learn about the plants the surround, and connect with nature.   Contributing author is Danielle Gehl Hagel.

Looking More Closely

So let’s take a closer look at the treasures you will find in this lovely guide.  Eight chapters as well as a chapter dedicated to parents and educators.   Learn about the original peoples of the area, the regions covered, and so much more.   You’ll see plant profiles (of some 50 plants), learn about some invasive plants and learn the do’s and don’t of wildcrafting.  This reminds me of a facebook group I’m part of where people talk about the mushrooms they are harvesting from the wild.  The encouragement is always to do no damage, but to harvest thoughtfully. 

As you continue to work your way through, you’ll discover some easy crafts to make and activities to do.  Have you ever thought of playing Burdock tag? Sounds like a sticky situation eh?  🙂 

Make Plantain Salve to ease the pain of insect bites. Dig into some wild leek pesto!  Find out how to measure a Bracken fern.  Dish up some juices, oils, lotions, and jams from plants you discover. 

Learn about all sorts of plants.  I have to admit that I knew most of these, but would middle-schoolers?  Probably not!  Descriptive text written for the target age range, with a sense of humour.  🙂 Be prepared to discover interesting little tidbits and to read responses from other middle-schoolers.  Learn some Latin.  Observe illustrations and photos.

The Parents and educators section is filled with tips for making the best use of nature study.  Not just tips for using this book in the best way, but more on how to introduce wildcrafting, and various skills.  Skills such as handling a knife for cutting samples or making wood carvings. 

My Over-all Thoughts

Should you add The Kid’s Guide to the Plants of the Great Lakes Region to your library?   Yes!   Find it, borrow it, give it a good read.  Be inspired and watch your children/students be amazed at everything around them!  

The plethora of illustrations, photos, and descriptive text make this an engaging tome. The engaging activities and crafts add a fantastic hands-on component that helps to hammer home what they are learning (and it’s fun!). 

I do wish the invasive plant section had been a bit larger.  But I can understand the brevity, the focus is on the plants of the Great Lakes Region, not on the invaders that don’t belong.  One does not wish to create a massive book that would then be unwieldy.   

This kid’s guide is just the right size to provide variety in activities and help provide assistance in learning regardless of where you are in the Great Lakes Region.  That is what makes this book so valuable.  It is a helpful resource whether you are living in city, town or country.

The Lost Bookshop

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You know how you start to read a book and you think… It’s got potential but I don’t know if I can get into it?  A book with two timelines that tends to drive you nuts with the bouncing around and then you discover something odd…. and suddenly you are hooked and totally invested?   Well, that happened with me with The Lost Bookshop.   Let me tell you more. 

the lost bookshop by Evie Woods

The Basic Details for The Lost Bookshop

Title: The Lost Bookshop
Author: Evie Woods
Publisher: One More Chapter
Pages: 448
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: magical realism, Contemporary romance, history, women’s domestic life, fantasy,
Available formats: paperback, kindle, audio

Evie Woods is Irish and loves to draw the unexpected and somewhat magical into her works.  She tells a good story between the everyday and the magical.  Weaving together worlds into something new that is very believable. 

In The Lost Bookshop we catch Henry searching for a bookshop that can’t be found.  He’s caught references to it, but can’t really track it down. And in his same timeline we find Martha.  A lady running away from a domestic situation that isn’t safe, finding herself working as a maid for a most unexpected lady.   As Martha gets caught up in Henry’s search we learn the story of Opaline and her bookshop. 

the lost bookshop

Looking Deeper

I’m not going to say this is always the easiest book to read, and I’m not a fan of reading two different timelines and trying to sort things out. BUT those divergent timelines worked really well together and caused their own little surprises in the end. 

Domestic abuse and generally just the poor treatment of women is a fact in both timelines.  I was horrified at the treatment of Opaline at the hands of her brother and the “institution” she was placed in.  How could people be like that?  Institutionalized cruelty has always dumbfounded me. 

I LOVED Opaline’s resilience though, and I love how Martha took, learned and survived.  This is very much a story of survival for both women.  The touch of magic/fantasy throughout was an added bonus.  You were left wondering, just might this bookshop pull out next?  What book or words of encouragement does Martha need?  What is the story that Martha is having penned?   The mysterious help she received from the lady of the house left me with a certain amount of wonder and lots of curiousity.  I never did get that fully assuaged. 

When all the pieces finally fit together you are left with a great sense of satisfaction.  I was so pleased by the end of this story, it’s made me go out and hunt down other works by this author. 

I’m half way through The Story Collector, and want to read to read about the mysterious bakery on rue du Paris.   Doesn’t that sound intriguing?   I think Evie Woods has gained a new fan!   🙂 Go out and read The Lost Bookshop today!!!  

Sunshine in a bottle

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So after having enjoyed the Lemon Sugar series I was eager to try the next book by Carolyn Finch.   Sunshine in a bottle takes on the life of Indi.  Indi is a hairstylist with a troubled relationship with her mother.  Her mother has turned her life around and developed a whole Wellness Centre that she has lift to Indi (with some conditions) at the time of her death.  Indi’s plan… sell the whole thing!  Wants nothing to do with her mom and her legacy.  Too much pain sitting there for her to want to deal with it.  Life intervenes, and thus Sunshine in a Bottle is written. 

Basic Details for Sunshine in a Bottle

Title: Sunshine in a Bottle
Author: Carolyn Finch
Series: Blyss Series
Publisher: Carolyn Finch Writes
Pages: 311
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: women’s fiction, wellness, weight loss, romance
Available formats: paperback, kindle

My Thoughts

I enjoy Ms. Finch’s style of writing. After thoroughly enjoying the Lemon Sugar series, I was positive I would like this book as well. And though I did enjoy her style, I was less than enamoured with Sunshine in a Bottle.

What did I like?   I loved the people connection.  You could palpably feel how much people wanted to help Indi heal from her past pain.  They very much wanted Indi to become the best that she could be.   I loved that.  It’s great to see people drawing together to help someone become more than. 

The romantic element was okay, but kinda meh for me.  Of course you can see that opposites will attract, but this one seemed too forgone a conclusion.  

The whole emphasis on the paleo diet.  I’m sorry I was just lost on this one.  Her sickness, and everything as a result of allergies and her diet.  Just seemed to really be pushing a way of eating and then adding in things that didn’t really add up.  Like ancient people would be so focused on making hollandaise sauce? And isn’t it making a whole lot of assumptions about what people ate and how we can modernize it? It seemed a bit too pat for me I guess. And it could honestly be that I am being too much of a skeptic. 

The total diet and complete change of life was a bit too much for me.  In the end it took away from my enjoyment of the story.  It came out as too predictable, and too “neatly” tied up.   I have zero desire to follow up with the rest of the series. 

I enjoyed the good family connection exemplified in the literal Sunshine in a bottle. Finding a way to recreate scents and shine forth good memories.  I really that part.   Well done that! 

Now if I were reading just for a quick weekend getaway enjoyment I might have liked it more as it was a feel good story.   I’d give it a three stars rating. 

 

 

Lemon Sugar Series

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The first book in this series randomly popped up in my kindle unlimited suggestions and I thought hmmm… might be interesting, but maybe not.   Let’s try it.  And so read In the Company of Men and was hooked. 🙂   I have to admit to some skepticism though since a rather leery of anything slightly romance-y.  BUT I LIKED IT!   I did.  I was so surprised.  In the Company of Men made me laugh, made me worried, raised my suspicions, and surprised me.   Good stuff eh?  🙂  And so I want to tell you about Carolyn Finch’s Lemon Sugar Series. 

Lemon Sugar Series

The Basics Details for In the Company of Men

Title: The Lemon Sugar Series
Author: Carolyn Finch
Series: Lemon Sugar
Publisher: 
Pages: 376
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: mystery, historical fiction, crime fiction, history, women’s fiction, cozy mystery,
Available formats: paperback, kindle

Three books in the series.

All follow a similar theme.  Gal has a need … provide for her family in a male-dominated world of the 1920’s.   Runs into issue, with a touch of mystery about it, meets a guy who is willing to prove useful/helpful, lots of feel good emotions, and a story well-told.  TOTAL win for me.  🙂 

Author is Carolyn Finch who is a new author to me.  I do plan on finishing this series and then hope to find others by her.  She produces feel good stories with a romance element that doesn’t make me gag.  🙂  Ms. Finch loves to read and grew up as part of a farming community.  This lifestyle is steeped in her blood and she still loves living on the farm. 

Lemon Sugar Series

So What Did I Think?

It was so refreshing to delve into romantic women’s fiction and not have my gag reflex stimulated.   The romance in this read was realistic and not the central focus.   And I laughed!   Oh my, the number of times I laughed, and at one point even entered a cry of dismay.  That of course created conversation twixt me and a coworker and who knows… maybe I encouraged her to try this series!  🙂 

Set in the 1920’s I loved the quiet romance and the promise of a new life.  I loved how both the men and woman wanted to do what is right and good.  The not so nice people were fairly obvious and easy to not like (making it super easy to cheer for the good folk).  I loved the men being men and the women being women.  No gender confusion, just the simplicity of men and women being who they are. 

I do have to admit to some dismay at the speed of the romance.  But I’ve read a number of historical books where in the older west relationships proceeded fairly quickly, so this wasn’t totally unexpected.  But the romance wasn’t central to the story and events would have played out well with or without it, so nice to have a story like this.   Both of the first two books in this series were similar in style, I expect Hope and Dreams to be the same. 

Portrait of a Spy

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Daniel Silva is a new author to me, and don’t know the main characters in this story, but after reading Portrait of a Spy I find myself wanting to get to know them better.   🙂  When I looked him up I was astonished that I had not heard of him before.  Okay library, here I come!!   Mystery, international intrigue, the art world, and determination to protect.  All make for a winner!  

portrait of a spy

Basic Details for Portrait of a Spy

Title: Portrait of a Spy
Author: Daniel Silva
Series: Gabriel Allon
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 464
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: mystery, international intrigue, spy, terrorism, Suspense, thriller
Available formats: hardcover, paperback, audio, kindle

Author and Summary

Bombings in Paris and Copenhagen have agents Gabriel and Chiara drawn into the world of terrorism.   Can they stop this newest threat?   At the center of the threat is an American-born cleric in Yemen to whom Allah has granted “a beautiful and seductive tongue.” A gifted deceiver, who was once a paid CIA asset, the mastermind is plotting a new wave of attacks.  Can they find a someone to walk the line between the Islamic terrorist and the West? Enter in the daughter of an old enemy. 

Daniel Silva is a New York Times bestselling author having written over 25 novels filled with spies and international intrigue.  He’s an American, married, and worked as a member of the press.  He worked for CNN until his success as a novelist was secure. 

What Did I Think?

I love a good mystery novel.   Mr. Silva writes a novel that combines the human element (dismay at not being able to save the life of innocents) with a strong willingness to defend and protect.   Keeping the people of his nation safe is of paramount importance!   

It was interesting watching the process of discovering who the threat was and their approach to dealing with it.  It felt realistic. 

I have to admit, I had this disconnect with the whole reclusive couple in cottage in some small town.  It made no sense to me why that was important to write about. 

The interplay between the characters made sense and the sense of danger was real. Admittedly the action is slow with lots of dialogue, but the dialogue established the threat and response.    

There is a bit of a side story with the world of international art, and detecting what’s real art and what isn’t. An educational side trip for sure!  🙂 

I am looking forward to reading more in this series, should be a fun journey eh?  

The book of chaos series

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I’m part of this book list from BookBub. They send out offers to get books for free or cheap. I forgot to bring a physical book to work one day and thought I’d read on my phone instead. The Book of Chaos was in my most recent purchases. All I can say is I got hooked and so picked up the rest of the series using Kindle Unlimited. Thought I’d tell you about this lovely middle school fantasy series.

Review picture for The Book of Chaos series by Jessica Renwick

Some Basic Details

Title: Series: the book of chaos

One: The Book of Chaos
Two: The Guitar of Mayhem
Three: The Bow of Anarchy
Four: The Curse of the Warlock
Five: The Song of Embers

Author: Jessica Renwick
Series: Starfell
Publisher: Starfell Press
Pages: Averaging 350 pages
Intended Audience: middle school
Genre: fantasy, friendship, mystery, 
Available formats: hardcover, paperback, audio, kindle

There is to be a sixth in the series that finishes off the entire story, but it hasn’t been written yet.  The author wrote me a very nice email explaining family sorrow, and that the sixth is still on it’s way. 

The Basic Story:

Fable, a 12 year old girl, living a sheltered life in a quiet village. She has magic but needs to keep it hidden. She gets stolen away by a magic book.  Lands in a kingdom where magic is the norm, but an evil lich is causing a whack of trouble.  This lich wants Fable because of her developing powers, and so a battle of wits and power ensues.  Fable develops friendships with youth and adults as she engages in this battle for dominance. 

The Author: 

Jessica Renwick is from Alberta Canada where she loves to read mysteries and horror novels.  She turns that love into novels for middle schoolers.  She has chickens and dogs to help keep her busy in her garden when she’s not writing or reading.  

starfell series

So what did I think?

So I was abit taken aback that this series is considered horror.  I didn’t find it scary at all.  Some of the characters are mean and get into doing nasty stuff, but it’s not overly scary.  I suppose if I was in upper elementary school I might consider it rather scary though…  It’s hard to say, I’m an adult and can’t really remember what would have scared me back then.  🙂 

So what did I like? 

 I loved the core group of friendship that formed fairly quickly. Fear for one’s life can create bonding instances can’t they?  🙂   

I loved that the older folks, the adults in the picture, were very willing to help the children out.  They were protective (sometimes overly) but their concern was for the safety and well-being of the youngsters in their charge.   

I am currently very intrigued (and wanting to read book six) by the changing character of one of the “bad guys”.  My curiosity is stoked about what is going on with this individual. 

The characters weren’t static.  They grew and changed, sometimes through developing confidence, sometimes because hard things happened to them, and sometimes just because new skills emerged. 

What didn’t I like?

Fable was very persistent in thinking she was a bad, horrible, untrustworthy person just because her grandmother was.  It got to feel very repetitive despite her friends reassuring her frequently. 

The lack of patience in the youth, never wanting to wait for the adults to help them out and taking things into their own hands.  Granted, the team of friends was basically what the story was about, not about the adults.  So from a story perspective it makes sense that they acted as they did.  But as a parent reading, I found myself disliking the “we are right and they are wrong” persistent attitudes.   

I do get disappointed by the persistence in middle school fiction of having a same-gender relationship of some sort going on.  Granted the one in this read feels like a natural extension of who the people are, but could easily have been written without it. 

Final thoughts

BUT because I am so invested in this story, I actually wrote the author and asked her when the sixth book is coming out.  She wrote me a lovely letter in response speaking to family tragedy causing a delay.  And I’m sorry she’s had to deal with such sorrow. BUT!!  I hope she recovers from her family concerns soon and book six comes out!

I mostly enjoyed this series and really hope book six comes out soon.  The story is good and continues from book to book.  I love the gradual reveal of new talents and the confidence that grows in each of the youth, some more quickly than others eh?    So give The Book of Chaos series a read eh?   ONLY if you like magic, and mildly scary stuff though!  🙂