BOOKS: First Light: Animal Voices in Concert
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2006:
First Light:
Animal Voices in Concert
by Ardeth DeVries
Publishing Works (c/o Revolution Booksellers,
60 Winter St., Exeter, NH 03833), October 2006
186 pages, paperback. $15.00.
First Light is a collection of short stories about dogs and
an African elephant named Sonny, who was orphaned by herd-culling in
Zimbabwe circa 1980, was sold to a zoo in New Mexico, was
eventually deemed incorrigible, and was sent to the Popcorn Park
Zoo, a rescue facility run by the Associated Humane Societies of New
Jersey, in 1989. He died in early 2001.
The stories are told largely through the mouths of the
animals themselves, including Zippy, a little terrier who rescues
birds and finds time to teach inter-species communication, and
Angus, a blind shelter dog whose caring guardian was able to give
him the gift of sight. Angus lives with author Ardeth DeVries and
joins DeVries at benefits for animal charities near their home in
Coupevlle, Wasington.