Animals: Review: The Meerkat Wars by H.S. Toshack

“The Meerkat Wars”, H.S. Toshack, Paka Mdogo Press: 2010.

Quite by accident, Sheena, a small black and white cat, becomes a part of the meerkat wars.  After saving the life of young Pebble, she carries him back to his home at the meerkat burrow of Deepend.  While with the Duwara tribe of meerkats, Sheena learns of their conflict with their rivals, the Utongo.

This exciting opening of H.S. Toshack’s story draws us into “The Meerkat Wars”.  Younger readers will want to know what happens next.  Set in a national park in Africa, this book chronicles Sheena’s adventures in resolving the conflict between the two meerkat tribes.

Through Sheena’s adventures, the author introduces us to the great variety of animals on the African savannah.  We become a part of not only the lives of the meerkats but also the porcupines, cheetahs, and others.  While reading this book, we discover their caring and love for their little ones and old ones.  For a brief time, all these animals become a part of our lives, and we care about their futures.

This young adult book is focused on having children explore the world of Sheena and the two tribes of meerkats.  Each short chapter starts with a riddle poem, thereby setting the theme and encouraging the child to find out more.  Also within each chapter is a lively illustration that highlights a major point of the story thus far.

In “The Meerkat Wars”, Mr. Toshack tackles the serious issues of bias and prejudice with gentleness and sensitivity.  We see the meerkats from Sheena’s neutral point of view.  We feel their struggle over who will live under the One True Sun.  Meanwhile, Sheena goes from interested bystander to active peace negotiator.  Through Sheena’s discoveries about herself and the meerkats, we find ourselves rooting for Sheena to succeed.

I recommend this book for children who read chapter books.  It is a marvelous book for a parent or teacher to read out loud as a part of their story hour.  In addition, the publisher offers an on-line set of resources for helping young readers enjoy the book.

Come and explore the world of the African savannah through the eyes of a small black and white cat.  Be enthralled with the lives of the animals that live there.  Together with your child, enjoy the poignant and satisfying end.

Art and Nature: Van Gogh's The Starry Night (2 of 2)

Negative space is subtly used to calm the painting.  The emptiness of the sky allows the observer’s eye to connect the “dots”, which are the stars.  Meanwhile, the empty space of the mountains and Cyprus trees quiets the stars and moon, allowing the town to emerge as positive space.  These negative spaces also allow the observer to catch their breath, and experience sublime serenity as van Gogh intended.

Van Gogh demonstrates classical color theory with his touches of orange and red balancing the dominant greens and blues.  He avoids a monochromatic painting with the yellow and orange stars and moon.  The bright orange on the right side of the painting contrasts with the dark green of the trees of the left side.

The bright stars parallel the darker hues of the trees.  Within the town, bright pinpricks of green, red, yellow, and orange shine through the thick black strokes.  The pure colors of blues, greens, and yellows are offset by the black or white brush strokes next to them.  These strokes dampen the intensity of the colors.  The gradual deepening of the greens and blues settles the intensity of the yellows and oranges.

The thick brush strokes give movement to the wind in the sky.  Also, this texture gives the illusion of the Cyprus trees waving in the night.  Meanwhile, the rays of the stars and moon extend out in three dimensions.  Since the texture gives depth to the scene, it allows the observer to enter and experience the painting.

“The Starry Night” offers you an experience of the transcendence of nature.  The crescent moon invites you to sit on it and let the wind blow through you.  When the brilliance of the sky becomes too much, you can nestle quietly in the trees.  Go beyond interacting with nature to become one with nature herself.  Enter the quiet town and reach up to the moon.  Explore the sacred magic of nature through van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”.

Works Used:

Blizzard, Gladys, “Come Look With Me:  Exploring Art With Children”, Charlesbridge: Watertown MA, 2006

___,“Come Look With Me:  Exploring Landscape Art With Children”, 2006.

Brookes, Mona, “Drawing With Children”, G.P. Putnam: New York, 1996.

----, “Understanding Formal Analysis”, J. Paul Getty Museum, <1 December 2011> http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/formal_analysis.html

----, “The Van Gogh Gallery”, Templeton Reid, LLC, 15 January 2011, <1 December 2011> <http://www.vangoghgallery.com/>.

----, “Vincent van Gogh”, Artble, 2011, <1 December 2011>

Williams, Andrew, “Life of Van Gogh”, 2011, <1 December 2011> <http://www.lifeofvangogh.com/>

Art and Nature: Van Gogh's The Starry Night (1 of 2)

One of the most beloved paintings by Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) is “The Starry Night” (1889, Oil on canvas).  Van Gogh painted this picture from his memory, and from his bedroom window at an asylum in France.  Because the trees and the town were derived from van Gogh’s imagination, “The Starry Night” becomes a combination of fantasy and reality with the actual night sky and the fictional Dutch town.  Adding to the overall impact of this piece is that van Gogh painted it at night (a difficult feat at best).

As the viewer becomes captivated by the swirling lines of the sky, they silently enter painting into the quiet town below.  To keep the viewer engaged, somber blues of the sky and mountains balance the bright oranges of the stars and moon.  The dark vertical trees pierce the vibrant sky to ground the scene in the here and now.  Meanwhile, rich brush strokes give depth to the scene, allowing the observer to participate in the painting.

By combining the natural shapes of the trees and mountains with the formal shapes of the stars and the buildings, van Gogh creates an incandescent harmony to the piece.  The vivid hues of the sky are quieted by the solemn hues of the countryside.  To hold the composition together, he uses the Cyprus trees to unite the sky with the town.  The result is a numinous invitation to the viewer to embrace nature.

Examine the painting more closely to see how van Gogh achieved his aims.  First, his wide curling lines lead the viewer’s eye from star to star until it reaches the crescent moon.  Circling the moon, the eye is then directed downwards by the softer curving lines of the mountains.  The round lines of the trees give way to the straight lines of the buildings.  Finally, these short lines of the town rest the eye from the wild swirling lines of the sky.

The horizontal lines of the town calmly guide the eye to the vertical lines of the gently curving trees.  Then these lines lead the observer back to the undulating lines of the sky.  This effect draws the observer in and allows them to fully experience the essence of the painting.

The formal shapes of circles dominate the top half of the painting, while the crescent shape of the moon focuses the eye on the right half of the sky.  However, these circles are balanced by the rectangles and triangles of the town.  The sharp triangle of the steeple pierces the sky to bring the eye down to the town.  Softening and melding these geometric shapes are the natural shapes of the mountains and Cyprus trees.  Meanwhile, the geometric shapes of the sky and town give structure to the formless trees.

Negative Energy: Arrogance

Picture arrogance and a person strutting about bragging how great they are comes to mind.  However, arrogance comes in other forms such as being “over-bearing, over-confident, pompous, or vain”.  It can also include “bigotry, dominance, self-importance, self-righteousness, and smugness” as well.

Excessive humility, the reverse can also be a form of arrogance.  Prime Minister Golda Meir (Israel, 1898 - 1978) is quoted as saying, “Don’t be so humble.  You are not that great.”  Consider the Uriah Heep character in Charles Dickens’s novel “David Copperfield” (1850).  Since he was so humble, Heep regarded himself to be superior to other people.

Having high self-esteem or self-respect is not being arrogant.  People do need a healthy sense of self-respect to be mentally well.  Once we respect ourselves, we can respect others.  Tolerance stems from our ability to love ourselves.  Furthermore, if we possess self-esteem, we will also accept responsibility for our actions.

The National Association for Self-Esteem defines self-respect as “the experience of being capable of meeting life’s challenges and being worthy of happiness.”  Having high self-esteem does not mean that we are egoists or possess a sense of superiority.  The opposite is true for arrogance instead comes from low self-esteem.

One example of arrogance is the belief that we are exceptional.  People in the United States are often told that their country is the “shining city on the hill” or “the last best hope of Earth.”  These statements assumes that the United States is unique and worthy of universal admiration.

However, thinking that they are special is normal for many countries.  In her book, “The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890–1914” (1966), noted historian Barbara Tuchman (American, 1912-1989) observed that the Great Powers of Europe during the 19^th Century thought the same as the United States does today.  Even the Roman Republic/Empire believed that in their territorial expansion, they alone were advancing the cause of civilization.  In every instance, these powers thought that they were the final arbitrators of the “greater good”.

Seeing others through our lens of superiority denies them their worthiness.  We do see others not as they actually are but as our inferiors.  Therefore we can subject them to our will since we “know better” than they.

Arrogance seeps into places where we are unaware of.  For example, to feel superior, some people will make a virtue of being poor.  By doing this, it helps them to feel good about themselves.  They can denigrate the well-off people without desiring to change their status quo.

Another example of the perniciousness of arrogance is what is taught about the Persian Empire in most history classes.  What many people know about this large, stable, polyglot empire is from the Ancient Greeks.  Mortal enemies of the Persians, the Greeks believed that they were morally superior to the Persians.  While the citizens of Persia had considerable freedoms, many citizens of the various Greek city states lived under tyranny.  However, the majority of historical information about Persia comes from Greek sources.

The concept of hubris or overweening pride comes from the Greeks.  Hubris leads to a feeling of invincibility which leads to complacency.  From complacency comes failure.  History abounds with examples of hubris such as the Chernobyl Reactor Meltdown of 1986.

 

Arrogance becomes another form of control.  What I do not like, I can be rid of.  Through self-importance, I can feel privileged to eliminate any unpleasantness that I come across.  Because of my strong personality, I need to keep it in check and respect others.  

Underneath arrogance is fear, envy or sorrow.  Fear and rage will also mask themselves as arrogance.  It is easier to control and tear down others than to face the primary feeling lying beneath the surface.  Arrogance can stem from brokenness, and keeps us from seeking relief.

Healthy self-esteem and pride springs from a sense of wholeness.  Being kind to others begins when we finally start loving ourselves.  An antidote to arrogance is being generous with ourselves and others.

Works Used.

London, Herbert, “The Dangers of Hubris”, American Outlook, 7 April 2002, Pundicity, http://www.herblondon.org/1384/the-dangers-of-hubris,

Miller, Laura, “‘Sybil Exposed’: Memory, lies, and therapy”, Salon.com, 16 October 2011, http://www.salon.com/2011/10/16/sybil_exposed_memory_lies_and_therapy/ ,

---, National Association for Self-Esteem, http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/,

Walt, Stephen, “The Myth of American Exceptionalism”, Foreign Policy, November 2011, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/the_myth_of_american_exceptionalism,