Five Busy Beavers

January 15, 2018
In what’s essentially a woodsy, rodent-themed take on the “Five Little Monkeys” nursery rhyme, Grasso follows the building efforts of five beavers that gnaw down trees to build a dam, despite their dwindling numbers (“Along came a turtle, who wanted to play./ And one little beaver waddled away”). Grasso’s rhymes aren’t always very imaginative, but they hit their marks and make for bouncy reading (“Four busy beavers chewing on some wood,/ chopping down trees as fast as they could”). Battuz creates an appealing cast of dumpling-shaped, easily distracted beavers, setting their hard work (and play) in a welcoming, multitextured woodland landscape. A collection of facts about beavers, herons, fireflies, and other animals from the story close out a cheerful tale that concludes with a surprise housewarming party for the “one tired beaver” who stuck around to finish the job. Ages 3–8.

January 15, 2018
Building a dam can take all day...and there are so many distractions."Five busy beavers building up a dam, / closing off the river where the salmon swam." They gnaw down trees and place them in the stream until..."Along came a muskrat, / who wanted to play. / And one little beaver swam away." Four remaining beavers continue taking down different species of trees; along comes a heron, and then there are three. They drag logs to the dam site...until a line of "chorus frogs" distracts one, and the work crew is down to two. The penultimate beaver waddles off with a turtle who wants to play, and the last, dedicated beaver works until it's so dark a firefly is needed to light the way back to the lodge. The other four beavers have a plan (with their new friends) to apologize to their hardest worker with a little surprise thank-you party. Grasso's fact-filled construction tale, originally published in Canada in 2015, is equally well-suited for storytimes and budding naturalists. The details in her counting rhyme are supplemented with notes at the close on each species encountered. Battuz's happy, lightly anthropomorphized beavers (no construction hats here) enjoy both work and play in the textured, full-bleed illustrations throughout. This good-hearted alternative to those five little monkeys is as hardworking as its subjects. (Picture book. 3-7)

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February 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-Modeled in the style of a classic counting rhyme, this story tells the tale of five beavers working to build a dam. On each page, one of the crew leaves, drawn away by a distraction from a marshland creature. Finally, only one hard working, diligent beaver is left to finish the dam and trudge home by the light of a firefly. Happily, his friends try to make amends by surprising him with a party when he finally arrives. The end pages provide some factual information about a beaver pond and the animals that are featured in the book. The digitally rendered illustrations are bright and detailed. VERDICT This original take on a classic is recommended as a general purchase for a primary collection. Great for a number-themed storytime or a lap read.-Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh

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