Little Beaver and the Echo CD

Amy MacDonald is an American author of children's books whose work includes Little Beaver and the Echo, which has been translated into 28 languages around the world, and Rachel Fister's Blister. A freelance journalist, she has written for the New Yorker, the Times, and many publications, as well as co-producing a documentary film, On This Island. She teaches writing to schoolchildren around the world as well as working as a teaching artist for the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. She lives in Maine, in the USA, with her husband and three children. Find Amy online at www.amymacdonald.com and on twitter as @AmyMacDonaldFTW.Sarah Fox-Davies loves illustrating animals in their natural environments - bats, beavers, bears, cats, wolves and even caribou - and also has a particular interest in natural history. She has contributed illustrations to a number of field guides and gardening books, as well as being the illustrator of the bestselling picture books, Little Beaver and the Echo, written by Amy Macdonald, and Snow Bears, written by Martin Waddell. She lives in Wales.

PreSchool-Grade 1-- A cumulative, didactic tale. Hearing his own cry, "I need a friend," called back from across the pond, Little Beaver sets out to find the creature who shares his problem. As he journeys to find out who was crying, he is joined by an otter, a duck, and a turtle, all of whom also want companionship. Ultimately, they meet a wise old beaver who explains about Echo, and they make Echo sound happy when they discover that they are friends. Little Beaver is a fat, furry little fellow who is apparently intended to look natural, although he has the demeanor of a greeting card creature. This anthropomorphic approach is neither realistic nor convincing in presenting a human dilemma enacted by animals. The lovely soft watercolor scenes bespeak the British artist's experience as a natural-history illustrator. The issue concerning Echo is somewhat confusing, however, and the flat, precious conclusion about friendship is clearly stated but predictable. --Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
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