HIT: HS Lit-Environment/Health

[Roz Goodman <bsrlg@aurora.alaska.edu>]

Thanks to all who responded:

Suggestions for fiction titles with the theme of the environment, mental
health or disease for a HS lit/health unit. Reading level 6-8 prefered.

1. Have you tried "Z for Zachariah" (environmental/nuclear war) or "The
Moves
Make the Man" (mental health)?

2. See Ecology, Environment (Fiction) and Puberty (Girls) at:
http://www.wcsu.k12.vt.us/~wardsboro/lists.htm#Subjects

3. Zodiac_ by Neal Stephenson.  A very cool eco-thriller.

4. For the environment:  "California Blue", "Phoenix Rising".  Mentall illness:
"The Only Alien on the Planet" is fairly new and excellent for high school
readers with a lower reading level.  Also, "Crazy Lady".  These are all fiction
and written at the 6-8 level.

5. Here are some possibilities for books with an environmental theme that I
think would be suitable for the age group you're talking about.  They all
deal with wildlife issues:

Catamount by Michael Peak
This is a fantasy story of an alliance between an eagle and a puma, both of
whom are lonely and looking for mates.  The eagle helps the puma by
spotting game and looking out for danger, which arrives in the form of a
pack of dogs who have escaped from a training facility for guard dogs and
who are trying to learn to survive in the canyon when picking off sheep and
pets from people's yards becomes too risky.  The dogs come up against a
pack of coyotes who agree to teach them how to survive in the wild in
exchange for a promise from the guard dogs to kill the puma they fear.
Another facet of the story involves reporter Laura Kay (who also can't find
a mate) who is covering the California Dept. of Fish and Game Commission's
public hearings regarding a proposal to issue 250 hunting permits to hunt
mountain lions,as well as the story of attacks by the dog pack, and a story
on poaching.  It all comes together in the end, with happy endings all
around.  The story contains an element of magic and touches on some
important environmental issues.

The Weirdo by Theodore Taylor
A romance, murder mystery, and environmental novel rolled into one.  A girl
(whose name I can't remember) meets Chip Clewt in the swamp wildlife refuge
where he lives with his father after she spends a terrifying night as a
result of getting caught in the swamp at dark chasing a lost dog.  In the
early morning hours, she swears she saw a man go by carrying a body.  Chip
Clewt has been helping Tom Telford conduct a research study on the bears in
the swamp, in preparation for releasing a study recommending for or against
lifting a hunting ban in the preserve.  When Telford disappears, Chip joins
with the Nature Conservancy to release Telford's findings and lead a
campaign to prevent the ban from being lifted.  The story gives excellent
insights into the methods used to study wild animals, and the emotion and
controversy surrounding hunting rights, as well as providing sensitive
treatment of the feelings and self-consciousness of a burn victim-- Chip
having been badly disfigured as a result of a plane crash.

The Wolf Path by Judith Van Gieson
This murder mystery centers around the reintroduction of the Mexican Wolf
to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.  Juan Sololobo is a wolf
advocate who travels the country with a wolf named Sirius to do educational
programs about wolves for children.  When he takes his program to Soledad,
New Mexico, the troubles that begin with his wolf being set free eventually
wind up with the murder of a federal Fish and Wildlife Service biologist,
which female lawyer Neil Hamel sets out to solve.  Provides an
understandable explanation of the Endangered Species act and represents the
points of view of all the key players in wolf reintroduction and their
related issues.

Skywater by Melinda Worth Popham
I think of this as "Watership Down" with coyotes.  It is the story of a
group of coyotes on a quest for water and the old, desert dwelling couple
who cares for them.  Brand X is Albert and Hallie Durham Ryder's favorite
coyote.  Having lost his mother and his littermates to a bounty hunter, he
is both a loner and a leader.  When the Ryders discover their water supply
is polluted due to tailings from copper mining, they switch to bottled
water-- but they must also make the water unavailable to their coyote
neighbors who are accustomed to drinking from their water tank, too.  This
is what spurs Brand X's quest for "skywater", with six other coyotes
tagging along.

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine (Nonfiction)
Douglas Adams provides a very entertaining account of his travels to the
remote corners of the earth in search of the world's most rare and
endangered creatures.  Great introduction to endangered species and in
particular the threats that have driven these animals to near extinction:
poaching, illegal wildlife trade, loss of habitat...  On a more hopeful
note, captive breeding and other conservation methods are discussed, and
the merits and drawbacks of tourism are debated.

And one that might be good for "disease":

Plague by Jean Ure.
Fran returns from a month-long survival camp to find that nearly everyone
in London, including her parents, have died during an epidemic presumably
caused by a germ warfare experiment gone awry.  Fran teams up with her best
friend, who has become mentally unbalanced as a result of the crisis and
death of her mother, and Shahid, a boy she knows from school, to develop a
plan to find food and safety.  When Shahid falls victim to the disease and
Fran feels duty-bound to care for him, Harriet takes off and is not seen
again.  Fran, always a follower and never a leader (bordering on
anti-social), is now forced to draw on her own strength and courage to
ensure her own survival and that of Shahid.
--
Roz Goodman, Media Specialist
Southwest Region Schools
PO Box 90
Dillingham, AK 99576
907-842-5287 (work) 842-5428 (FAX)
bsrlg@aurora.alaska.edu

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