Wind Over Dark Tickle

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
Memorial University of Newfoundland.

This book and audio recording (available as cassette or CD) features
Heather Walter’s richly modulated voice narrating and singing about
young Peter’s quest to discover why the Atlantic fish have vanished.
Although the book is authentically illustrated by Sylvia Ficken, the
story works much better in the audio version, with the interspersed
songs performed.

Peter’s quest begins when he finds an enormous shell and puts it to
his ear in order to hear the sea. The sea seizes this chance to sing its
question about the disappearance of its fish. Dark Tickle’s oldest
resident tells Peter about the community’s gradual transition from
small rowboats to huge processing ships that enabled fishers to catch
fish “before they hardly had a chance to grow.” Peter receives a
similar explanation from a young marine biologist, who nevertheless
suggests that the fish stocks may regenerate. Peter also learns that his
friend Sarah must move so that her parents can find work.

Although the positive message conveyed by this story is appealing,
there are problems with the characters. The ocean is unconvincing as a
character, and Peter’s shifts in mood are unexplained. The
illustrator’s rendering of the flora and fauna of a Newfoundland
outport is for the most part meticulous; however, her depiction of the
warm-water conch shell is glaringly inaccurate. Recommended with
reservations.