What Goes on inside a Beaver Pond?, by Becky Cushing Gop, Carrie Shryock (Illustrator)

 

Publication Sept. 5, 2023

Their teeth never stop growing? 

True. Although Alaska does have beavers, I have to admit to knowing little about them other than that they gnaw down trees and build dams. As a result, it was eye-opening to find out about this amazing creature. As for their teeth, that's one of the reasons they seem driven to gnaw on trees. It's rather the beaver way of keeping their mouth healthy.

You'll pick up lots of info on not just beavers but the wildlife about them. Even cooler, the story doesn't strictly focus on beavers but gives us information on these other creatures, too, not to mention "sound bubbles" illustrating how each might sound were we to encounter them in the wild. The various tracks of each are also shown, usually in a side panel. 

I won't detail all the interesting things I learned but will say, wow, being a beaver is obviously pretty much a life of constant work. They prepare for each coming season in advance, meaning it's pretty much a cycle of life for them. The steps involved in building their lodges and dams to keep the water level high enough to allow them to live safely and snugly in their lodges is neverending. Cut-away views show us the insides of these lodges, btw, and they not only have air holes and exit/escape tunnels, but they're actually built on more than one level. Wow, multi-level homes. The entire beaver family works together to create this masterpieces of lodging, with each generation eventually moving on to create their own lodge elsewhere, an experience we follow. 

This just touches the surface of what's inside. The illustrations are lovely and eagle eyed readers can spy various other wildlife as well as the layout of the land and waters about them. One thing the book did address, albeit briefly, is that while it certainly can't be 100%, many of the tree stumps left behind by the beavers fervent gnawing and search for food and materials to build their complex homes do eventually begin to twig out and start the growing cycle once again. So, destructive, yes, but perhaps not to the extent we imagine. 

Bottom line, an excellent look at the beaver and the environment that surrounds this intriguing creature. Thanks #NetGalley and #StoreyPublishing for introducing me to a critter that while it shares my state, I've never seen in the wild. Had no clue how complex, not to mention exhausting, their lives must be.