Build, Beaver, Build!

February 1, 2016

K-Gr 3-An exciting introduction to these semiaquatic animals. Readers follow a young beaver kit over the course of a year as he and his family find food, ward off predators, and continue to build their dam and lodge. Short paragraphs lend themselves to being read aloud, and the narrative will hold kids' attention. However, the details and vocabulary found in other animal texts are lacking here; report writers will need to look elsewhere for general facts. Hocking's intricate and beautiful full-spread watercolors greatly enhance the text. VERDICT A solid supplemental purchase.-Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR

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January 1, 2016
A young beaver kit grows up in a world in which beavers have lived for generations. Markle introduces her subject when he's only 3 weeks old, "softball-sized." She follows his growth using like familiar comparisons and documents his changing activities as he begins to imitate his parents, to feed himself, and to contribute to the continued building of the dam and providing for the next generation. She smoothly weaves in details of beaver life: their dams and lodges, their food, their enemies, and their activities as the seasons change. This experienced and award-winning author's engaging and informative text is not well-served by its packaging. The tantalizing subtitle is misleading, and the illustrations' stylized wetlands and forests would be more appropriate background for an animated film than an informational picture book. The long beaver dam that is their home is identified only in a short author's note in the backmatter; Markle doesn't use the superlative "longest." The green of Canada's north woods is deep and dark, but these illustrations tend toward the cyan. The text is usually set in white on the dark images, appropriate for the nocturnal animal. Shelves that already include Glen Rounds' classic Beaver (1999) and Jim Arnosky's Beaver Pond, Moose Pond (2000) probably don't need this, but it would complement other books about animal life cycles and includes helpful further research suggestions. Disappointing. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

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