This entry in the Wildlife series features concise, clearly organized facts corraled into brief, dual-page chapters about North America's largest rodent, the beaver. Presented in picture-book form, an easily managed amount of information is presented that describes the beaver's habitat, tree-bark diet, anatomy, and special abilities. As with the muskrat, beavers are one of the few water rodents, equipped with design features that enable them to swim gracefully, as well as to sharply fell trees. The building of dams and lodges is explained in easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions, adding to the marvels of the natural world. An unusual, often startling "beaver fact" is highlighted in the corner of each spread. Naturalistic watercolors depict the beaver in many poses_rolling a twig as if it were corn on the cob or wedging sticks into a stream bed for the foundation of a dam. A particularly outstanding spread profiles the beaver diving through a sea of green, displaying its webbed feet, powerful tail, and milky eyelids underwater. Beaver signs, such as tracks, tree stumps, or scent mounds, will aid young observers in the wild; a glossary of terms completes this thorough examination. (map, index) (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)
