Review - The Busy Beaver

The Busy Beaver (Life in the Wild)
by Nicholas Oldland
Date: 2011
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

A clueless beaver discovers the impact his actions have on others.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is either an environmental story... or an allegory about an addict hitting rock bottom and having to make amends.

Beaver is busy. Too busy. He's so busy chewing down trees that he's not paying attention to the effect his chomping is having on the forest. He bonks Bear on the head with a falling tree. He displaces a family of birds. He chews on Moose's leg by mistake. He leaves the forest in ruins. It isn't until his carelessness results in his own massive bodily trauma that he stops to think about what he's been doing wrong. When he's recovered enough, he sets out to make things right... and to apologize for all the hurt he's caused.

There are a lot of people in the world who could learn from Beaver's example. The message is a good one, and it's reinforced by the fact that when Beaver tries to make things better for others, he makes things better for himself, too.

This is another fun title in the Life in the Wild series with a nice message and amusing pictures.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5