How the Wise Old Owls saved the country
When I was quite young one of my favourite books was The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. It featured Mr. Toad of Toad Hall , Mole, Rat and Badger, four delightful characters who were always getting into one misadventure or another. Today’s children may be familiar with the animated movie version, produced in 1983, but apparently still available in a variety of formats to discerning parents.
With this in mind I was delighted to see that the Senate, in yet another attempt to redeem itself, has come up with a picture book for children to explain the position and workings of the upper house within the Canadian political mosaic. Described, by its creators, as an “endearing, whimsical fable that’s sure to appeal to children of all ages,” the book features a variety of animals who inhabit the “Forest of Canada” which is in turn ruled from far away by the Great Lioness. (They don’t mention if the Lioness always wears unusual hats and is never seen without a handbag and gloves.)
Where The Wind in the Willows is a classic example of anthropomorphism, in which animals are given human traits (Mr. Toad drives a car and is fond of waistcoats) the Senate’s new children’s book is the opposite. In this case the senators, MPS and the like are turned into animals. Mind you, in the case of Canada’s Senate, the more pedantic might make a case that the upper house is an example of psychomorphism in which human mentality is attributed to inanimate objects. But I digress. In this “whimsical” tale, the Great Lioness is so far away that the Forest of Canada is governed by a Council of Animals. They are chosen by popularity and as you would expect the Foxes choose the slyest, the Moose the one with the biggest antlers, the Beavers the hardest working and so on. But here is where it all falls apart.
Although the woods are soon filled with all sorts of animals making wonderful speeches they can’t get anything done because of all the squabbling. When a beaver cuts down some trees to make a dam and ruins a squirrel’s nest and a badger’s front door in the process, the wheels come off.
There is no mention of the head of the Council of Animals, which I would presume would be a peacock overly fond of his own image, stepping in to solve the problem by repeating his own mantra, “sunny ways, sunny ways” but this is a work of fiction after all.
Instead, in the Senate’s new book, it’s the wise old owls that take the lead. These owls aren’t part of the Council of Animals but from their perch at the top of the trees of the Forest of Canada they can observe the chaos below. And thus is born the Senate of Owls, an unbiased, unaligned body of wisdom and discretion designed to keep a gentle eye on the fractious Council of Animals and bring peace and harmony to the land.
Strangely enough, there doesn’t appear to be a chapter in the new book telling the children how some of the owls occasionally don’t show up for meetings for months on end or how a few of them are fond of taking material from other forest animals to feather their own nest. Nor is there any mention of the occasional owl who uses his or her position to abuse other animals in the Forest of Canada. I guess the children wouldn’t understand that anyway.
The 23-page book was created by the Senate’s communications shop, a committee of senators, and a graphics designer and cost a mere $6,170 to print an initial 3,500 copies. I understand Senator Mike Duffy will autograph a copy for you for just $9.95.