The beaver in this story is so busy felling trees that he puts no thought into his actions. Consequently he causes devastation in the forest. Finally the busy beaver's carelessness results in an accident. From his hospital room the beaver surveys the destruction he has caused and resolves to fix the mess. As he restores the forest, children will learn an important message about individual responsibility in the care of our environment. Nature can recover if we learn from our mistakes and take action.
This book requires students to make inferences about why the busy beaver makes the choices he does. Thus it could be used in a classroom discussion about stewardship, with students expressing opinions and ideas about caring for our environment. The book also supports literacy outcomes for young readers with relatively easy language and strong graphics to support the text. This story could also be used as an introduction to a class project involving native plantings or a clean up of their school grounds.
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