Pick of the Day: Wapos Bay, Season 3 (DVD)

SLJ — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:00:26 +0000

Wapos Bay, Season 3 (Series). 6 DVDs. 24 min. ea. with tchr’s. guides online. Prod. by Wapos Bay Prods. and National Film Board of Canada. Dist. by National Film Board of Canada. 2012. ISBN unavail. $335 ser. Includes: A Mother’s Earth; Going for the Gold; Raven Power; Lights, Camera, Action; Dance, Dance; Raiders of the Lost Art.
Gr 2-6—Produced in lovely stop-motion animation, this series, set in a remote Cree community in northern Saskatchewan, gets viewers to join in the lives of three children—Raven, Talon, and T-Bear—and the other members of their community. It provides a realistic view of modern Cree life, with touches of humor and a strong cultural undertone. The episodes cover many relevant issues. Raven tries to discover who she really is for a school assignment. Talon participates in the Indigenous Games by playing golf, but risks losing his friend, T-Bear. The women of the community leave the men to fend for themselves when they are under-appreciated. The community’s children are given an opportunity to celebrate their heritage through film for Treaty Days, but two competing projects emerge. Can cooperation be the key to success? T-Bear would rather dance than wrestle, but hates to disappoint his father. In the last episode, rock paintings are discovered and graffiti artists hit the community—are the two events related? These segments focus on important themes—identity, perseverance, jealousy, cooperation, heritage, and being true to yourself. Along the way there’s humor that will set both children and adults chuckling and messages everyone will appreciate. The programs can be viewed in English, French, or Cree. This is a good addition to multicultural collections, but the programs are also a lot of fun and can be appreciated on many other levels.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA

Pick of the Day: Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie (DVD)

SLJ — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:00:04 +0000

Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie. DVD. 93 min. Prod. by Entertainment One and National Film Board of Canada. Dist. by Bullfrog Films. 2012. ISBN 1-93777-234-9. $295.
Gr 10 Up–Scientist and TV personality David Suzuki is well known in Canada where he is revered as the host of the long running science program, Nature of Things, and as an environmental activist. This film honors his career by weaving together the story of his life with his last lecture outlining the concerns which have become his lifework. He makes a convincing case that the Earth cannot long support the environmental attacks being inflicted upon it by pollution of the air, seas and soil. Combining archival footage of his life as a scientist, activist, and civil rights advocate with contemporary illustrations of the havoc being sown upon the Earth by humans, he presents his thesis that mankind is the environment. He warns that the continuing unabated plundering of our natural resources, along with the strains of overpopulation and overuse, will result in calamitous consequences of overfishing, over harvesting of timber, and the ever growing population. Suzuki offers no recommendations for immediate solutions, but does suggest that without international cooperation to hold back rampant growth and the degradation of natural resources, the Earth we leave to our grandchildren will be a far different place from what it is today. Although the message is dire, the presentation is not overwrought. The combination of personal narrative with a global perspective makes this very valuable for both lessons in environment and 20th-century history.–Eva VonAncken, formerly Trinity-Pawling School, NY

School Library Journal» National Film Board of Canada

Pick of the Day: Wapos Bay, Season 3 (DVD)

Pick of the Day: Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie (DVD)