He Who Flies By Night: The Story of Grey Owl

While visiting the Nature Museum in Prince Albert National Park, I stumbled upon this beautifully illustrated self-published picture book and just had to sit and read it. Afterward, I purchased a copy at the local book store in Waskasieu. Told in first person, "I am Wa-Sha-Quon-Asin, He-Who-Flies-By-Night" tells of his plight to protect and conserve Canada's wildlife and wilderness. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the author's timeless message of conservation and despite its picture book format, I found that I learned a great deal about the life of Grey Owl. The illustrations beautifully enhanced the author's message.

This is a children's picture book about the enigmatic naturalist and writer, Archie Belaney, known to the world as Grey Owl. The story emphasizes Grey Owl's love of the wilderness, the animals and forests of Canada, and his passion for conservation. An Englishman, Belaney travelled to northern Ontario in 1907, learned to hunt and travel the wilderness, and adopted First Nations language, culture and dress. He became Wa-Sha-Quon-Asin, or Grey Owl, and married a native woman. He wrote a series of semi-autobiographical books about the Canadian wilderness in the 1920s and 1930s, and travelled widely in Canada, the United States and Britain speaking about conservation. He was employed by Parks Canada as a naturalist and park keeper, and show more lived in northern Saskatchewan in a log cabin with his pet beavers. It was only after his death in 1938 that the public learned he was an Englishman.
With beautiful paintings by Mike Keepness, this picture book tells some of Grey Owl's stories about his favourite wild animals, his life in the woods, and his love of the wilderness, ending with a reminder that "you belong to nature, not it to you", and that you must treat animals with respect. show less