Talking Tails

The Incredible Connection Between People and Their Pets

Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Look inside
From our earliest beginnings, we have shared our lives with animals. Explore the ties that people and their pets have formed from prehistoric times to present day.

With fun and fascinating facts, learn whether you are a Dog Person or a Cat Person, how to pick and care for your pet, and which animals are most closely linked to their wild roots. Discover purebreds and hybrids, rare and unusual pets, horses, birds, fish, guinea pigs, reptiles, and rodents.

Part social history, part "owner manual," Ann Love and Jane Drake present irresistible and heartwarming stories of pets through the ages, complemented by the captivating pen-and-inkwith- watercolor illustrations of artist Bill Slavin.
  • FINALIST | 2010
    Silver Birch Award for Non-Fiction
PRAISE FOR ALIEN INVADERS:
"This is a highly relevant topic.... A good choice for science enthusiasts and non-fiction readers, this succinct, lucid text makes global ecology palpable."
Toronto Star


PRAISE FOR SWEET!:
"... A yummy feast.... Sweet! is one tasty treat."
School Library Journal
© David Love
Jane Drake and Ann Love are sisters and coauthors who have shared a life-long interest in the environment and the wild: “As kids, our parents led our family vacations into wild places — we spent more time looking for shorebirds in sewage lagoons than most Canadians would ever admit to.” Their writing for children has always had a natural history/environmental-action focus. They are interested in making children more observant of the natural world. Together they are the authors of many award-winning books, including their most recent, Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World’s Boreal Forest, Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales, Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage, and Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Red Cedar Award, the Norma Fleck Award for Nonfiction, the Hackmatack Award, and the Silver Birch Award. Ann Love is one of the founding members of Pollution Probe. Both are married, have three children, and live in the Toronto area. View titles by Ann Love
© David Love
Jane Drake and Ann Love are sisters and coauthors who have shared a life-long interest in the environment and the wild: “As kids, our parents led our family vacations into wild places — we spent more time looking for shorebirds in sewage lagoons than most Canadians would ever admit to.” Their writing for children has always had a natural history/environmental-action focus. They are interested in making children more observant of the natural world. Together they are the authors of many award-winning books, including their most recent, Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World’s Boreal Forest, Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales, Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage, and Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Red Cedar Award, the Norma Fleck Award for Nonfiction, the Hackmatack Award, and the Silver Birch Award. Ann Love is one of the founding members of Pollution Probe. Both are married, have three children, and live in the Toronto area. View titles by Jane Drake
© E. Melo
Bill Slavin has illustrated more than fifty books for children, including The Big Book of Canada, Bleeps and Blips to Rocket Ships and Shooting Hoops and Skating Loops. His work has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Blue Spruce Award and the 2004 CLA Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's medal, both for his work on Stanley's Party. He shares his studio in Millbrook, Ontario with his wife, Esperança Melo. View titles by Bill Slavin

About

From our earliest beginnings, we have shared our lives with animals. Explore the ties that people and their pets have formed from prehistoric times to present day.

With fun and fascinating facts, learn whether you are a Dog Person or a Cat Person, how to pick and care for your pet, and which animals are most closely linked to their wild roots. Discover purebreds and hybrids, rare and unusual pets, horses, birds, fish, guinea pigs, reptiles, and rodents.

Part social history, part "owner manual," Ann Love and Jane Drake present irresistible and heartwarming stories of pets through the ages, complemented by the captivating pen-and-inkwith- watercolor illustrations of artist Bill Slavin.

Awards

  • FINALIST | 2010
    Silver Birch Award for Non-Fiction

Reviews

PRAISE FOR ALIEN INVADERS:
"This is a highly relevant topic.... A good choice for science enthusiasts and non-fiction readers, this succinct, lucid text makes global ecology palpable."
Toronto Star


PRAISE FOR SWEET!:
"... A yummy feast.... Sweet! is one tasty treat."
School Library Journal

Author

© David Love
Jane Drake and Ann Love are sisters and coauthors who have shared a life-long interest in the environment and the wild: “As kids, our parents led our family vacations into wild places — we spent more time looking for shorebirds in sewage lagoons than most Canadians would ever admit to.” Their writing for children has always had a natural history/environmental-action focus. They are interested in making children more observant of the natural world. Together they are the authors of many award-winning books, including their most recent, Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World’s Boreal Forest, Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales, Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage, and Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Red Cedar Award, the Norma Fleck Award for Nonfiction, the Hackmatack Award, and the Silver Birch Award. Ann Love is one of the founding members of Pollution Probe. Both are married, have three children, and live in the Toronto area. View titles by Ann Love
© David Love
Jane Drake and Ann Love are sisters and coauthors who have shared a life-long interest in the environment and the wild: “As kids, our parents led our family vacations into wild places — we spent more time looking for shorebirds in sewage lagoons than most Canadians would ever admit to.” Their writing for children has always had a natural history/environmental-action focus. They are interested in making children more observant of the natural world. Together they are the authors of many award-winning books, including their most recent, Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World’s Boreal Forest, Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales, Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage, and Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Red Cedar Award, the Norma Fleck Award for Nonfiction, the Hackmatack Award, and the Silver Birch Award. Ann Love is one of the founding members of Pollution Probe. Both are married, have three children, and live in the Toronto area. View titles by Jane Drake
© E. Melo
Bill Slavin has illustrated more than fifty books for children, including The Big Book of Canada, Bleeps and Blips to Rocket Ships and Shooting Hoops and Skating Loops. His work has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Blue Spruce Award and the 2004 CLA Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's medal, both for his work on Stanley's Party. He shares his studio in Millbrook, Ontario with his wife, Esperança Melo. View titles by Bill Slavin