Between the pages Alaska wildlife books are plentiful for summer reading
Between the pages By Chuck Hinson
Special to the Turnagain Times
Seems like there are plenty of wild Alaska animal books out there this summer, which is good news for both adults and children.
For instance, it was brought to my attention this spring that there is a children’s version of the 2005 classic “Being Caribou” (Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd) by Karsten Heuer. Both are fascinating stories, but the children’s version from 2007 gives the author an opportunity to feature some great photos of caribou and their young as they follow the animals’ migration from near the Yukon village of Old Crow to the Arctic and back.
Another good children’s book just released by Sasquatch Books this spring is “Caribou Crossing, Animals of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge” by Andrea Helman. The picture book features photos by well known photographer Art Wolfe. Each page highlights a particular arctic animal (like the seal, polar bear, fox, musk ox, moose, lynx) and supplies concise and interesting tidbits about each.
“Arctic Wings, Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge” is a beautiful book, perfect for anyone’s coffee table, (residents and visitors alike). I was very impressed by the level of detail text provided by the authors while first and foremost presenting a wonderful photographic montage of birdlife in the Arctic. This one was published by the Mountaineers in 2006.
University of Alaska Press just came out with a nice collection of short stories about Alaskan animals. It’s called “Wild Moments,” edited by Michael Engelhard. Each story features a different author who writes about an experience with a particular animal. For instance Jo-Ann Mapson writes about “Gandalf the Great Gray” (as in owl, not whale, even though the humpback is featured in Loretto Jones’ “Once Upon a Whale”). Other stories include “The Porcupine Wars” by Debra McKinney, “The Woman Who Gardens with Bears” by Ana Maria Spagna and Erling Friis-Baastad’s “Carried Away by Arctic Terns.” Many of the authors are from Alaska or the Pacific Northwest and they capture each encounter with a sense of awe and adventure.
“The Wolves of Mount McKinley” by Adolph Murie is also published by the University of Alaska Press, and “Walking the Big Wild” is another one by Karsten Heuer, except this time he is stalking Grizzly Bears from Yellowstone to the Yukon. It’s a few years old, with its last edition published by the Mountaineers Books in 2001, but it’s still a good read.
“Dall Sheep Trails” self published in 2005 by Ace Sommerfeld, tracks “Alaska’s premier Game Animal” along the Kenai Peninsula. W. Heimer, a Fairbanks biologist describes it as a “collection of stories about human interactions with Dall rams.”
One final children’s selection, written by Christiane Gunzi and put out by Kingfisher is “The Best Book of Polar Animals.” There are some remarkable illustrations that accompany facts about animals in the North Country and the book contains a nice glossary of terms and a useful index made especially for kids.
If you’re looking for bear stories, you can always find Larry Kaniuf’s collections of “Alaska Bear Tales,” and Tom Brennan writes some funny animal stories in “Moose Dropping and Other Crimes Against Nature.”
Chuck Hinson owns Girdwood Books and News in downtown Girdwood.