Glory Ride Book

"Heroes of Isle aux Morts" is based on the true story of the Harvey family and their dog Hairy Man, who saved 163 shipwrecked passengers off the Newfoundland coast in a gale in 1832. (The description of another book based on the event, "Ann and Seamus" by Kevin Major (), puts the date as 1828. One would think that a little research ought to be able to confirm the date, so the discrepancy is puzzling.)

Apart from enjoying the story, I learned a few things from the little prologue about the Newfoundland dog breed. According to this book, they were first kept by the Algonquin people, whose legends refer to them as "the gift of the gods." Read the book yourself to find out other interesting Newfoundland dog facts.

From a design perspective, I like way that text and black and white illustration are laid out on the on the left-hand page, counterbalanced by a full page colour illustration of the story on the right-hand side throughout. Perhaps this is the influence of Ingrid Paulson, who is listed as the designer, in which case kudos to Ingrid.