Who Has Seen the Wind ?

When W.O. Mitchell died in February of 1998, millions mourned his passing. Our loss was the lead item on the national news, many newspaper obituaries ran for a full page, and as an extraordinary mark of respect, flags outside government offices across the land flew at half-mast.

The man they mourned â and everyone in the Canadian book world whose life he had touched was personally saddened â was known above all as the author of Who Has Seen the Wind. And this edition â containing the full text â marrying W.O. Mitchellâ s text with the art of William Kurelek, has established itself as a classic.

Since its publication in 1947, Who Has Seen the Wind has established itself in the hearts and minds of millions as a Canadian classic. The reasons for the bookâ s classic status are not hard to find. As readers enter the world of four-year-old Brian Oâ Connal and his family and friends, they find characters that radiate life so convincingly that the book has a life of its own. No ordinary simple novel, it is the ageless story of childhood told with tenderness and humour and without sentimentality, and the picture of a small town anywhere, drawn with realism and understanding.

This handsome edition marries W.O. Michellâ s prose with the inspired illustrations of one of Canadaâ s finest and most popular artists, the late William Kurelek. The 8 full-colour paintings he produced, like the 32 black-and-white sketches that adorn the first page of every chapter, all come specifically from the text, and are illustrations in the very best sense. This edition is a collector's piece, a beautiful book that is also a joy to read, again and again.