Wise Like a Beaver
A children’s book that I wrote and illustrated for Chapter One Canada. This book supports literacy and teaches kids about beavers and their value as a symbol of wisdom to Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Cover
In the middle of the pond is the beaver family’s home. A beaver home is called a lodge. It is made of sticks, grass, and mud.
The older kits help their baby brother learn to swim. They show him how to slap his tail on the water. It makes a big noise used to warn the family of danger.
The dad beaver shows his baby how to build and fix a dam. They use their webbed back feet and tails to swim fast to nearby trees.
She wakes her family and they have to work together to fix the dam. They work together and quickly fix the leak.
The older beaver kits leave their home to start their own families. The baby beaver from last spring becomes the big brother to the new babies that will be born this spring.
It is spring in Ontario. There are beavers that live near a creek in the woods. The beavers built a dam that stops the water flow. The dam causes the land to flood and make a pond.
In the lodge, a beaver is born. A baby beaver is called a kit.
They play together. They groom each other. They snuggle together in the lodge during the day when they sleep.
The baby beaver learns to use his big sharp teeth to cut down small trees. They can use these small trees to fix their dam or lodge.
Once winter comes, the beavers stay in their lodge and rest. They sleep close together to stay warm.
Our ancestors tell us beavers are a symbol of wisdom. Beavers make changes to the land that help all creatures. Beavers teach us to use the gifts we are born with. How can you use your gifts to make the land better?
The pond is a good home for lots of plants and animals like fish, turtles, and frogs.
This beaver family has a mom, a dad, and 3 kits that were born last spring. Now, there is also one new baby!
The beaver parents teach the baby beaver, too. The mom beaver shows her baby where to find food. They use their hand-like front paws to collect some plants. Beavers only eat plants and tree bark.
One day, the mother beaver wakes up to hear running water. Hearing water flow means that there is a leak in the dam.
When winter is over and spring comes again, the beavers leave the lodge and enjoy eating fresh plants.