Reviews (scroll down for Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon)
Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris
"It is a magical book."
— Jackie Pels, Hardscratch Press
"... A marvelous book – enchanting, illuminating, often surprising, always informative. Henderson packs in lots of information about history, natural history, beach ecology, shipbuilding, glassblowing, human nature, you name it – but she does it with a light touch and eager curiosity ... Henderson writes a bit in the style of John McPhee, Barry Lopez or perhaps Edward Hoagland, though she doesn’t take herself quite so seriously and she is much quicker to make a point and move on. But like McPhee, she is adept at considering an object or animal or natural phenomenon from many different angles, making us care about its life cycle, its construction and its demise even as we absorb lots of fascinating information."
— David Laskin, author of The Children's Blizzard and Braving the Elements: The Stormy History of American Weather
On our radar: Must-read for your next beach weekend
Eugene-based writer (and longtime Sunset contributor) Bonnie Henderson started with a brilliant idea: Explore 1 mile of the Oregon Coast — mile 157, between Florence and Reedsport — and note every bit of debris washed up on the sand. Then tell the stories: of Japanese glass fishing floats, of a dead minke whale, of size 11 sneakers lost from a container ship. In her new book, Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris (OSU Press, $19), Henderson leads us from Oregon to Asia, introducing a host of interesting people, from marine biologists to the manager of a Chinese shoe factory.
— Sunset, October 2008
You know what they say about one man's junk being another man's treasure? Eugene author Bonnie Henderson gives us a new take on that old saw: She considers jetsam that has washed up on a particular Oregon beach from around the Pacific Rim, and writes about it in a series of jewel-like essays. Her new book, Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris, is a must-read for anyone interested in the coastal waters of the Northwest ... These and other stories in Strand provide fantastic insights into the ocean sciences, from the nitty-gritty of evolutionary adaptation to the physics of drift. But Strand has other dimensions, too. It's a terrific collection of human interest stories — people are drawn to the sea for many reasons. And it's an invaluable meditation on our place, as individuals and as a society, in the larger scheme of things.
— The Olympian, Oct. 18, 2008
... The Oregon Coast, rocky and rugged, heartbreaking and shipbreaking, exerts a magnetic pull on most Oregonians. Some, like Eugene author Bonnie Henderson, return over and over again … Her years of closely observing the sandy beach of Mile 157 transform into a gentle, beautifully written series of disconnected vignettes in Strand … Henderson describes herself as an “amateur naturalist,” yet her tales of dead common murres and minke whales provide such a compelling look at the ecology of the ocean that this reader, at least, nearly decided to head back to school for degrees in marine biology. Then there’s the piece de resistance, a truly prodigious feat of reporting and writing, in chapter five, “The Sanak.” Fishing boats run into trouble all of the time in Oregon waters, and fishing’s a dangerous livelihood. Or so almost anyone who reads an Oregon paper in the winter comes to understand. But this chapter, in which Henderson recreates a 1983 shipwreck, tosses readers into the challenges, the joys and the absolute despair of trying to make a living from the fickle, treacherous deep ...
— Eugene Weekly, Oct. 23, 2008
How many times have you strolled down a beach and come across some strange object, or even a commonplace one, and wondered what it was or where it came from? If only you had the time and determination to ferret out the story of your find — what exotic tales would it tell? Such questions also piqued Oregon writer and naturalist Bonnie Henderson, and fortunately she did have both time and energy to find the answers ... Combining dogged perseverance, impressive research and an attention to detail, Henderson has written a first-rate book about the beach and the stories of debris. It will make you want to go to the beach and find your own stories.
— Seattle Times, Nov. 13, 2008
"Henderson's love of beachcombing inspired her to become a volunteer for CoastWatch, signing up to patrol Mile 157 of the Oregon coast. Curious about the flotsam and jetsam she observes, Henderson assigns herself intriguing missions … A major die-off of the common murre, a deep-diving seabird, sparks a discussion of a crucial ocean phenomenon, the upwelling, and the damage done by oil spills. A beached whale, a buried fishing boat, each discover leads to unforeseen revelations. Subtle in its critique of our destructive impact on marine life, and lush with delight in the marvels of ocean and shore, Henderson's beachcomber tales net a bounty of new knowledge and clarifying perceptions.
— Booklist, Sept. 15, 2008 edition
Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon
There are a great many books out there to help parents find fun, age-appropriate nature experiences, but we've settled on Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon for a number of reasons. First, it's easy to use, breaking down kid-friendly walkabouts by region, skill level, seasonal availability and commitment required. Of equal importance to us is the book's philosophy--it articulates not only how to hike as a family, but why everyone should ... Hiking offers simple joy, exercise, time unplugged from the media that increasingly occupy our kids, and opportunities to learn as a family ... And Henderson tells us how to make it fun, even for little kids.
— Metro Parent, September 2009 Happy (Little) Feet: Book offers plenty of ideas
for hiking with children in Oregon
"Hikes with young children can produce happy little feet, or they can lead to trail tantrums. Parents who want to avoid the latter and assure more of the former on their family outings could pick up some helpful tips from Bonnie Henderson of Eugene. Henderson is an expert on kid-friendly hikes from the coast to the Cascades. A third edition of her family hiking guide that first hit bookstores 15 years ago was published earlier this month by The Mountaineers Books.
"Her Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon (264 pages, trade paperback, $16.95) was originally issued in 1992 under the title Best Hikes with Children in Western and Central Oregon. It includes 100 hikes selected for their appeal to and suitability for children." Read the entire review online>
— The Register-Guard
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