Abel S Island

William's Steig's Abel's Island tells the story of a mouse who gets swept away from his beloved wife—a truly timeless classic about life's simple pleasures. Abel's place in his familiar, mouse world has always been secure; he had an allowance from his mother, a comfortable home, and a lovely wife, Amanda. But one stormy August day, furious flood water carry him off and dump him on an uninhabited island. Despite his determination and stubborn resourcefulness--he tried crossing the river with boats and ropes and even on stepping-stones--Abel can't find a way to get back home. Days, then weeks and months, pass. Slowly, his soft habits disappear as he forages for food, fashions a warm nest in a hollow log, models clay statues of his family for company, and continues to brood on the problem of how to get across the river--and home. Abel's time on the island brings him a new understanding of the world he's separated from. Faced with the daily adventure of survival in his solitary, somewhat hostile domain, he is moved to reexamine the easy way of life he had always accepted and discovers skills and talents in himself that hold promise of a more meaningful life, if and when he should finally return to Mossville and his dear Amanda again. Abel's Island is a 1976 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, and a 1977 Newbery Honor Book. It was adapted to a short animated film directed by Michael Sporn in 1988.

Two Continents and One Island conveys a physical representation to the metaphorical, mental, and spiritual journey of growth undertaken by the protagonist through life's unknowns. It chronicles the author's life story, starting in Zambia, Africa, where he was born and raised, through Cuba, where he attended postsecondary education, to North America, where he ultimately established his professional life. It makes for an intriguing life story of perseverance and opportunity interspersed with failures and successes, sorrows and laughter, ups and downs, but above all God's direction at every turn. The interweaving of religion and morality, recurring as a predominant theme, is well presented through the author's unique experiences in three unique environments. The story is not merely a series of facts about the protagonist's life, but it also fluidly manages to reflect the author's views on religion, politics, and social themes from both the perspectives of being a devout Christian and a vulnerable young man on a sojourn to distant lands while surrounded by temptations, which are usually quite different. Yet he manages to reconcile these viewpoints very nicely and shows how a "black and white" view on morals and the world can become grayer and still retain its righteous character. This blend between spirituality, carnal desires masquerading as temptations of a young man and his unique perspective on politics in a time of extreme political upheaval makes for the most fascinating storyline in the book. While the author is quick to point out that this is not a story about the rise from poverty to riches, he lays out an interesting perspective of how Providence orchestrated his life and miraculously opened doors at every step of the way with the help of what he commonly refers to as human angels. In the end, he reminds us that, all things considered, success, no matter how it is defined, is uniquely about tenacity and will. The memoir covers an array of universal experiences, such as growth, spirituality, culture, and politics. It is a well-written and fascinating book as it provides a unique perspective on such difficult times in the author's history and journey. Additionally, it paints an interesting viewpoint likely to capture the attention and enjoyment of those who may not have shared the journey and origins. Whether it is the reader wishing to explore life's paradoxes in the diaspora or the immigrant who may draw upon the common experience or perhaps the curious reader wishing to explore the intricacies of a closed socialist system, everyone will find the story relatable and easier to share in the experience of the protagonist.

From Griffin Poetry Prize winner Jordan Abel comes a groundbreaking, deeply personal, and devastating autobiographical meditation that attempts to address the complicated legacies of Canada's residential school system and contemporary Indigenous existence. As a Nisga'a writer, Jordan Abel often finds himself in a position where he is asked to explain his relationship to Nisga'a language, Nisga'a community, and Nisga'a cultural knowledge. However, as an intergenerational survivor of residential school--both of his grandparents attended the same residential school--his relationship to his own Indigenous identity is complicated to say the least. NISHGA explores those complications and is invested in understanding how the colonial violence originating at the Coqualeetza Indian Residential School impacted his grandparents' generation, then his father's generation, and ultimately his own. The project is rooted in a desire to illuminate the realities of intergenerational survivors of residential school, but sheds light on Indigenous experiences that may not seem to be immediately (or inherently) Indigenous. Drawing on autobiography and a series of interconnected documents (including pieces of memoir, transcriptions of talks, and photography), NISHGA is a book about confronting difficult truths and it is about how both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples engage with a history of colonial violence that is quite often rendered invisible.

Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator William Steig's classic children's book, Farmer Palmer's Wagon Ride is "a joyous slapstick farce with a breezy text that rushes headlong...from one hilarious misadventure to another" (The Horn Book). An ALA Notable Children's Book Farmer Palmer, a pig, and his hired hand Ebenezer, a donkey, have a fine morning selling their leeks, turnips, and lettuce at the market. By noon they're on their way home with a new straw hat for Ebenezer and gifts for the whole Palmer family. But before long, harum-scarum gusts of wind sweep through, setting off a "comically hapless journey" (Booklist, starred review).

Amos the mouse and Boris the whale: a devoted pair of friends with nothing at all in common, except good hearts and a willingness to help their fellow mammal. They meet after Amos sets out to sea in his homemade boat, the Rodent, and soon finds himself in extreme need of rescue. Enter Boris. But there will come a day, long after Boris has gone back to a life of whaling about and Amos has gone back to his life of mousing around, when the tiny mouse must find a way to rescue the great whale. The tender yet comical story of this friendship is recorded in text and pictures that are a model of rich simplicity. Here, with apparent ease and concealed virtuosity, Caldecott medalist William Steig brings two winning heroes to life. Amos & Boris is a 1971 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year, Notable Children's Book of the Year, and Outstanding Book of the Year.

James Bond is possibly the most well known fictional character in history. What most people don’t know is that almost all of the characters, plots and gadgets come from the real life experiences of Bond’s creator - Commander Ian Fleming. In this book, we go through the plots of Fleming’s novels explaining the real life experiences that inspired them. The reader is taken on a journey through Fleming’s direct involvement in World War II intelligence and how this translated through his typewriter into James Bond’s world, as well as the many other factors of Fleming’s life which were also taken as inspiration. Most notably, the friends who Fleming kept, among whom were Noel Coward and Randolph Churchill and the influential people he would mingle with, British Prime Ministers and American Presidents. Bond is known for his exotic travel, most notably to the island of Jamaica, where Fleming spent much of his life. The desk in his Caribbean house, Goldeneye, was also where his life experiences would be put onto paper in the guise of James Bond. As the island was highly influential for Fleming, it features heavily in this book, offering an element of escapism to the reader, with tales of a clear blue sea, Caribbean climate and island socialising. Ian Fleming might have died prematurely aged 53, but so much of him lives on to this day through the most famous spy in the world, James Bond.