HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: The Beavers’ Busy Year
Author and Photographer: Mary Holland
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing formerly Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1628552041 (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1628552042 (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-1628552133 (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1628552131 (Paperback)
Related websites: http://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com (author), http://www.SylvanDellPublishing.com or http://www.ArbordalePublishing.com (publisher)
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Reading level: Ages 4-10
Rating: ***** 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
Disclosure: Any books donated for review purposes are in turn donated to a library. No other compensation has been received for the reviews posted on Home School Book Review.
For more information e-mail homeschoolbookreview@gmail.com .
Holland, Mary. The Beavers’ Busy Year (published in 2014 by Arbordale Publishing formerly Sylvan Dell Publishing, 612 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite A2, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464). Have you ever seen a real, live beaver? Beavers are mammals, just like us, which have hair, give birth to live young, and feed their babies milk. They are also rodents, like mice, chipmunks, squirrels, woodchucks, and porcupines, which have four big front teeth called incisors that never stop growing. When our boys were young, we lived in Dayton, OH, and took them to see some beavers at a local metro park. After we moved to Missouri, we took them to a Department of Conservation beaver watch program at a nearby nature preserve along the Missouri River. What do beavers eat? Where do they live? And what do they do in the fall, winter, spring, and summer?
Children love to learn about different kinds of animals. In A Beaver’s Busy Year, the informative text and the gorgeous, full-color photographs, all by Mary Holland, provide a lot of interesting facts about beavers and how they live. These fascinating creatures were once hunted almost to extinction for their fur which was used to make men’s hats. The “For Creative Minds” section in the back has additional material on beaver signs, how beavers engineer their dams, and their relationship to other pond wildlife. There is a 15-30 page teaching activities guide available at the publisher’s website to help youngsters explore the world of beavers further. A similar Sylvan Dell title by Mary Holland is Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer.
homeschoolbookreviewblog 