Many of us will remember the wolves in children’s stories as villains that would huff and puff and blow your house down. However, South River writer Lynn Remmelgas is trying to change our perceptions of these beautiful creatures with an innovative new children’s book.
“I already had the idea for several years, but I couldn’t figure out how I was going to change those children’s stories in a way that didn’t feel like a lesson to the kids. Then it just came to me that this was a way to do that.”
“Josephine Meets A Stranger” follows the adventures of a young wolf living in a large pack of brothers and sisters. Woven into the story are facts about wolf behaviour. While the book was created to teach children about wolves and other wildlife, it does tackle the challenges that these animals face.
“They’re one of the most highly social creatures on the planet and they have to avoid a lot of pitfalls – not just humans but each other.” Lynn says. “My research when I was at Lakehead University is largely on carnivore conservation, so that’s what I look at. Wolf conservation worldwide is highly controversial, highly polarized. There’s those that love them. There’s those that hate them.”
Lynn has a Master of Science in Biology and an Interdisciplinary degree and has focused her research on animal behaviour and perceptions and attitudes. Ontario has an extensive wolf population who mainly prey on moose, caribou, deer and beaver. However, there have been reports across the 705 of wolves coming into more populated areas and killing livestock, and Lynn says that can have a significant impact on residents.
“For some and their livelihood, if they lose one sheep, they might only have five up here.”
The Adventures of Josephine is an ongoing series. Electronic copies of the book are already on Amazon and hard copies will be available to order on March 1st.
Lynn would like to donate copies of Josephine Meets A Stranger to schools in the Parry Sound-Muskoka region, and is available for readings and book signings. She can be reached at remmelgaslynn@gmail.com.
We’re very excited to announce that Lynn is joining 705BLACKFLY.COM as a regular columnist to further explore conservation and canine behaviour. Watch for that in March!
