Published by Harry N. Abrams
Summary: Willow is a duck who’s been raised by a beaver since her egg was washed out of the nest and got stuck in a dam. She’s curious and dreams of being a detective, so when a large black object mysteriously lands in her pond, she and her friends get to work figuring out what it is and where it came from. Once they’ve established that it’s a car tire, they realize it’s bad for them to have it in their pond and get to work removing it. Their teamwork results in a successful outcome, and Willow is able to convey a “recycle” message to the truck driver who left his tire behind. 80 pages; ages 6-9.
Pros: A good beginner mystery with a nice environmental message and fun illustrations by Dan Santat (side note: I was thrilled that Santat won the National Book Award last week for A First Time for Everything). Happily, this is billed as book 1, so we can look forward to reading more about Willow and her friends.
Cons: Getting the tire out of the pond, billed as a mystery, seemed more like just a problem to solve.
Summary: Willow is a duck who’s been raised by a beaver since her egg was washed out of the nest and got stuck in a dam. She’s curious and dreams of being a detective, so when a large black object mysteriously lands in her pond, she and her friends get to work figuring out what it is and where it came from. Once they’ve established that it’s a car tire, they realize it’s bad for them to have it in their pond and get to work removing it. Their teamwork results in a successful outcome, and Willow is able to convey a “recycle” message to the truck driver who left his tire behind. 80 pages; ages 6-9.
Pros: A good beginner mystery with a nice environmental message and fun illustrations by Dan Santat (side note: I was thrilled that Santat won the National Book Award last week for A First Time for Everything). Happily, this is billed as book 1, so we can look forward to reading more about Willow and her friends.
Cons: Getting the tire out of the pond, billed as a mystery, seemed more like just a problem to solve.