What Goes on inside a Beaver Pond?

July 1, 2023
A young beaver helps her family make spring repairs and then strikes out to find a new home. Set in a Massachusetts wildlife preserve supervised by the author, this account of a seasonal round offers a natural odyssey imbued with sharp observations of beaver behavior. The story is an immersive one thanks to Gop's exact but simply phrased narrative ("Her lips can close behind her teeth. That keeps her from swallowing water when she carries branches in her mouth") and to Shryock's verdant outdoor scenes, most of which are laid out in close-up panels inset into broader backdrops and enhanced with aerial and cross-sectional views plus side galleries of exactly detailed turtles and other local wildlife. Swimming past low river banks both unspoiled and littered with trash, the furry wanderer at last picks a spot that "feels safe." She proceeds step by step to repair an old beaver dam and meet a male, and together they stake out the surrounding area with scent mounds while building a lodge that proves, come winter, sturdy enough to discourage a passing bear. Readers will be eager to continue feeding their curiosity about these fascinating wild creatures; the author urges them to do so, concluding with a set of leading questions. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Plenty to chew on for young nature lovers. (Informational picture book. 7-9)

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Starred review from September 1, 2023
Grades 3-5 *Starred Review* In April, snowmelt flows from the mountain ridge into a brook and the beaver ponds in the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. Birds return. Bears and salamanders emerge from their winter shelters. Beavers, who have been working all winter long beneath the ice and within their lodges, now begin to repair their dams. Two beaver kits are born. They stay in the lodge for weeks before venturing outside with their parents. Leaving home, the kits' two-year-old sister swims downstream and chooses a homesite. She begins repairing an abandoned dam and finds a mate. Together they build their lodge, mark their territory, and prepare for winter. The narrative concludes when spring arrives again. An environmental educator and wildlife-sanctuary director at the Mass Audubon conservation organization, Gop cites no sources, but offers a story that draws readers in while conveying basic facts about beavers' daily lives throughout the seasons as well as their life cycle. Shryock's lively, detailed illustrations are varied in layout, with some double-page spreads showcasing a large illustration with a single border of facts, while others are divided into panels of small rectangles, some containing text and others offering related sequences of pictures. This attractive, informative book provides an engaging introduction to beavers.

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