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The Busy Beaver (2012)

by Nicholas Oldland(Favorite Author)

3.76 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1554537495 (ISBN13: 9781554539208)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Kids Can Press

review 1: Another tale about taking responsibility for one's actions towards othes and the environment. Using his now familiar palatte of greens, blues and browns and a supporting cast of characters from his earlier books, Oldland explores the concept of unthinking carelessness in a beaver's approach to the world around him. A valuable message; but as with all of his stories, it feels as though the character-development is written more with the parent or teacher in mind than the child. The pattern is familiar--animal demonstrates a behaviour that should be changed, embarks on a series of steps to self-improvement, and discovers a better way to live his life. This is the third Oldland book nominated for the Ontario Library Association's Blue Spruce reading program, and I would ... moresuggest that there is a clear reason why he hasn't yet won the children's vote: although the themes may resonate with the adults looking to mold young minds, the text and humour is above the intended audience. To the nominating committee: please move on and stop flogging this horse. We know Oldland exists; we know what types of books he writes and can incorporate them into our teaching as needed. But this is a children's reading program. The children have already spoken: quit nominating him.
review 2: When Beaver's busy-ness leads to carelessness, the whole forest is affected. When a tree falls on him (he wasn't paying attention to which direction it would fall), Beaver winds up in the hospital, with lots of recovery time to slow down and see some of the mistakes he made. When he's better, he makes amends. Simple, funny illustrations and a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor in the writing make this a fun read. Nice for all of us to be gently reminded that if you make a mess, clean it up! less

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