ANIMALS COME TO MY HOUSE: A Story Guide to the Care of Small Animals

by Esther Kellner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 6, 1976

Esther Kellner is one of those specially attuned individuals who adopts foundling animals and can adjust her homelife to their needs with all the patience of a doting mother. She's also a keen observer, so when she says that Little Joe the possum Once chewed a bite of chicken exactly 137 times, we're ready to believe her. And her observations of Sugar, the groundhog who lived in two cardboard box burrows but preferred the sunporch rocking chair, are so affectionately precise that one feels Sugar did really deserve her status as one of the family. Later, Kellner gives very specific advice on formula feeding, vermin, handling and, the toughest part of all, releasing healthy animals back into the wild. Anyone who takes in hurt and motherless animals (or just likes to imagine doing so) will benefit from Kellner's experiences. Those who wouldn't enjoy being awakened at three in the morning by a thirsty possum might find the regimens suggested by Villiard's Wild Mammals as Pets (1972) more practical but Kellner's indulgence never turns mushy and her permissiveness seems to be based on a solid appreciation of her foster babies' animal natures.

Pub Date: Aug. 6, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION