Smoke

Dawn Richardson

6 X 9 inches, 112 pages

LIKE HER FATHER, GREY OWL, Dawn Richardson became a writer to raise consciousness of the natural environment, in her case she tackled the cruelty of wolf bounties. Set in the wilderness, Smoke brings together a Métis boy, his family, and a wolf. A compassionate yet realistic tale of the bush and all its inhabitants.

By the time Dawn was 19, she had read Grey Owl's books and prolific correspondence and picked up the spark of conservation that her father and mother had kindled. She dedicated her complete adult life in support of their ideals, speaking at schools and winter festivals. She condemned the massive slaughter of wild animals merely for the sake of economic gain. She challenged the myth of the big, bad wolf by studying first-hand the habits and temperament of wolves, and showing children of all ages that the wolf was in fact one of the most timid and man-fearing animals of the wilderness.

Dawn Richardson

Author

Dawn Richardson was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on August 23, 1932. As the daughter of Grey Owl (Archie Belaney) and Anahareo, she spent her early childhood summers with her parents at Beaver Lodge, on Ajawaan Lake, in the Prince Albert National Park. It was here that she romped and played with Jelly Roll and Rawhide, the two beavers that became world-famous along with their guardians, Grey Owl and Anahareo. After her father's death in 1938, Dawn was raised mainly in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Dawn passed away in London, England on June 3, 1984 during her husband Bob Richardson's exhibition of paintings "Images of Grey Owl and Anahareo's Wilderness," without realizing where the final draft of her manuscript Smoke would find its home.