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university degree would have made little difference. Comfort offered late in life by many lovers, rumored to have been as many as 25, and the award of the Order of Canada, could not defer the inevitable. In October 1986. Thorn was invited to give a lecture at U B C and guide a tour of his houses. Thorn arrived "frail but sober." He spent a week visiting friends. Shadbolt recalls it as a time that was "nostalgic, warm and friendly." Thorn visited his first wife and the grown-up children on Hornby Island. Drinking again, Thorn left Vancouver for Toronto. Thirty-six hours later, Thorn was found dead in his office. C © Graham W.Argyle is an architect who specializes in facilities planning. 1 alike to some o f the environmental dangers presently facing the west coast of British Columbia. In particular. Carolan draws our attention to the potentially hazardous effects of water pollution. In the end, Carolan's readers are told what, but not who, is responsible for the pollution. Without suggesting that parties guilty of polluting the environment ought not to be identified and punished, the book focusses our attention on what and how solutions may be brought about. The result: Carolan is able to tell a story that is not about finger-pointing, but about how communities can work together to help identify and deal with dangerous environmental hazards. This is an important message. Although the book is progressive in its attempt to raise the level of awareness of important environmental concerns here in British Columbia, Carolan's cast is relatively stereotypical in terms of race, gender and physical (dis)ability. The promotional literature I received from the publisher described the characters as "presenting a wonderful composition of cross-culturalism." Although the four young friends in the story are made up of a white sister and brother, an Asian girl and a black boy, the book cannot be said to be cross-cultural in any significant way. The central family in the story is that of the white sister and brother and consists of a boy, a girl, a mom and a dad. Similarly, the man who, together with B i g Whiskers, helps solve the mystery, is white. With respect to the two children of colour, we know they are not white only by the story's illustrations. This left me with a vague sense of tokenism. None of the characters are differently abled. With respect to gender, the male characters tend to provide most of the dialogue directives and story action. The female characters ask more of the questions and provide support. The two characters primarily responsible for "saving the day" are Captain Jim and B i g Whiskers (both male), while the only "female" animal-Hilda the Heron-is a protective mother Susan Ramprashad has a B A in classical studies and is the mother of one child. concerned about feeding her children. Finally, it should be noted that the book could have been more rigorously proof read. There are editorial errors as well as story-line inconsistencies that are obvious enough that they ought to have been detected in such a short book. In the end, however. Big Whiskers Saves the Cove is an important contribution to children's literature by a North Shore writer. Carolan tackles a sometimes controversial subject-the environment-and his story is made richer by the wonderful illustrations of Jim Collins. In fact, the beautiful pictures tell the story so well that the book can be shared with very young children. O S 1 literary Big Whiskers Saves the Cove by Trevor Carolan Illustrated by Jim Collins A T M Publishing Review by Susan Ramprashad W h e n an eerie silence falls upon the usually active and diverse wildlife scene of Deep Cove, four young friends, an old sea captain, and their friend B i g Whiskers set about solving the mystery and determining the cause of the pollution that is poisoning their environment and threatening the birds and sea life of Deep Cove. The fact that B i g Whiskers is a seal only adds to the excitement and pleasure which this adventure is sure to bring young readers. Big Whiskers Saves the Cove is Trevor Carolan's most recent work and promises (in a general way) to introduce young readers and parents