Get Busy, Beaver!

This beaver family does only one thing all day every day: work feverishly on their dam as they anxiously eye their neighbors' progress. Build build build. Quick quick quick. Chop chop chop. The rhythmic dialogue underscores the near-hysteria in which these hapless animals conduct their lives. The exception is their son Thelonious, who daydreams the afternoons away, looking at the clouds in the sky or the leaves on the water, or sniffing the flowers on the riverbank. Finally he fashions an enormous artistic construct made of logs and leaves and flowers, attracting birds and insects. The other beavers are so taken with his creation that they actually stop working for a while and take the time to enjoy it. Inspired, they decorate their own dam with garlands of leaves and bunches of wildflowers before helping the rival beaver family do the same thing. Full-color line-and-pastel cartoon illustrations accompany the text. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.