The children were fascinated about how Karana managed to tame an otter. We were discussing the behaviour of this very interesting animal, recalling seeing them at the zoo, when I remembered a film I'd seen as a child. It was called "Ring of Bright Water".
So, after looking about on ebay, I managed to find one for sale and bring it home for around $7AUD. It's a lovely film to have in our family movie collection. (It is a Region2 dvd, but it still played well in our player.)
We watched it today and thoroughly enjoyed it. The informative narration about the nature of otters, the humour and the drama .. just delightful.
Here's a beautiful song from the film, too, sung by Val Doonican.
Ring of Bright Water is based upon book called The Otter's Tale. It was written by a Scottish naturalist, Gavin Maxwell. The title of the film came from a poem written by Kathleen Raine.
Maxwell wrote of an otter species found in Eurasia (also see here), which is now believed to be extinct. So, this is different from the otter Karana would have tamed on her Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Well, this was an interesting bit of research! I'm so glad that there are still some excellent films and music available for our children to enjoy, as well as means for us to still follow-up with relative naturalists studies for a very relaxed and successful end to our 2009 homeschooling year. I have a feeling a day at the zoo may be on the agenda this summer, with some animal sketching too!
No comments:
Post a Comment