I picked this book up on a whim from the front display of my library. I couldn't have told you much about Farley Mowat before reading this, other than he was a famous Canadian poet.

This autobiographical book is an covers the first sixteen or so years of the erratic life of young Farley. It's an interesting to read about somebody's experience growing up during the great depression. It's hard to imagine the world being such a different place, but Farley isn't interested too much in people. He is fascinated with animals. As somebody who grew up on a farm, I am well familiar with Mr. Mowat's connection to animals.

I found it engaging to read about Farley growing up in a still developing Saskatoon. His father was a library admin here. It's hard to visualize just how different Saskatoon must have been less than 100 years ago.

There are some strange and off putting passages in here, particularly one involving two young boys and a dog. More than a few times I found myself repelled by what I believe were supposed to be "young boys experimenting" passages that instead read as ignorant or, worse, actively cruel.