Ducks by Kate Beaton

Before there was Kate Beaton,New York Timesbestselling cartoonist ofHark! A Vagrant, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beaton, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles, and Gaelic folk songs. With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta's oil rush part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can't find it in the homeland they love so much. Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands, where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet is never discussed.

Beaton's natural cartooning prowess is on full display as she draws colossal machinery and mammoth vehicles set against a sublime Albertan backdrop of wildlife, northern lights, and boreal forest. Her first full length graphic narrative,Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sandsis an untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people. (FromDrawn and Quarterly)

DuckswonCanada Reads2023, when it was defended by Jeopardy! super-champ Mattea Roach.

• The CBC Books fall reading list: 30 Canadian books to read now
• Kate Beaton's affectingDucksdives into the lonely life of labour in Alberta's oil sands
• The best Canadian comics of 2022
• The top 10 Canadian books of 2022
• 32 Canadian books to read in spring 2023

Kate Beaton is a cartoonist from Nova Scotia who launched her career by publishing the comic stripHark! A Vagrantonline. The sassy historical webcomic gained a following of 500,000 monthly visitors and was eventually turned into a bestselling book. Beaton's success continued with the bookStep Aside, Pops!andtwo children's books,King BabyandThe Princess and the Pony.

Why Kate Beaton wrote Ducks

"That's a deeply ingrained idea in Cape Breton. We have been exporting labour for so many generations there, way back beyond my grandparents' time. I grew up listening to songs and reading stories about migrant labour before I had a complete understanding about the cycle of that kind of work.

Going out there, I knew that I wasn't going to have a good time. I knew I wasn't gonna like it, but I knew that I should be grateful for the job I was going to get.- Kate Beaton on working in Alberta's oil sands

"Growing up in Cape Breton, we had lived through so much economic collapse by that point. In this working class environment, the message isthat any job is a good job. Going out there, I knew that I wasn't going to have a good time. I knew I wasn't gonna like it, but I knew that I should be grateful for the job I was going to get. The fact that somebody was going to hire me and give me money was the good thing. Back home, they were calling it things like 'money jail.'

"It doesn't evoke asense of enjoyment, right? But I didn't know the details in any way. What I expected was to work for money that I should be grateful to have. And I never expected a corporation to treat me nicely, but I also didn't know exactly what I was stepping into."

Read more in her interview with The Next Chapter.

More from Canada Reads 2023

Canada Reads 2023 book trailer: Ducks by Kate Beaton

1 year ago

Duration 1:24

Jeopardy! super-champion, writer, and podcast host Mattea Roach will champion Ducks by Kate Beaton on Canada Reads 2023.

Relive the best moments from Canada Reads 2023

1 year ago

Duration 4:26

A new winner has been crowned! Here are some of the most powerful moments from this year's debates.

Mattea Roach on why Kate Beaton's graphic memoir Ducks is the one book all of Canada should read

1 year ago

Duration 1:04

On the final day of Canada Reads 2023, Mattea Roach shared their thoughts on the graphic memoir by Kate Beaton.

Michael Greyeyes and Mattea Roach debate on the finale of Canada Reads

1 year ago

Duration 3:21

On the finale of Canada Reads Mattea Roach was questioned by Michael Greyeyes regarding the ethics at the core of the graphic memoir.

7:41Mattea Roach gets all their Ducks in a row at Canada Reads 2023

Canada Reads wrapped up yesterday, and Kate Beatons graphic memoir Ducks, championed by Mattea Roach, won it all. It's a story about the climate crisis, but its also a moving portrait of the people she meets working in the Alberta oil sands. Both Kate Beaton and Mattea Roach join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud just a few hours after their win.

More interviews with Kate Beaton

The Next Chapter20:51Kate Beaton on Ducks

Kate Beaton talks to Shelagh Rogers about her graphic memoir, Ducks.

Q11:40Kate Beaton shares what happens when you receive a surprise endorsement from a former U.S. president

Canadian cartoonist Kate Beaton got a surprise over the holidays when her graphic memoir Ducks landed on Barack Obamas list of favorite books of 2022. She shares her reaction to the former U.S. presidents endorsement, and what happens to an author when theyre promoted by one of the worlds most famous literary tastemakers.

30:44Kate Beaton's new book is a graphic memoir of her time working in Alberta's oil sands

Kate Beaton is one of the most beloved cartoonists in North America, known for her historical comics Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops. But what many dont know is that before her rise to the top of bestseller lists, she drew her earliest comics while working in Albertas oil sands. Beaton's latest book, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, is a graphic memoir about that time. She joined Tom Power to tell us more.

Other books by Kate Beaton