Tag Archives: nature study

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 8 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

Story + Local Videos

CHAPTER 8

Peter Rabbit Takes a Swim

Farmer Brown’s boy sat with his chin in his hands staring at the new pond in the Green Forest and at the dam which had made it. That dam puzzled him. Who could have built it? What did they build it for? Why hadn’t he heard them chopping? He looked at the stump of one of the nearby trees, and then a still more puzzled look made deep furrows between his eyes. It looked very much as if teeth, and not an axe, had cut down that tree. Farmer Brown’s boy stared and stared, his mouth gaping wide open. He looked so funny that Peter Rabbit, who was hiding under an old pile of brush close by, nearly laughed right out.

Peter didn’t laugh though for just that very minute something happened. Sniff! Sniff! That was right behind him at the very edge of the old brush pile, and every hair on Peter stood on end with fright.

“Bow, wow, wow!” It seemed to Peter that the great voice was right in his very ears. It frightened him so that he just had to jump. He didn’t have time to think. And so he jumped right out from under the pile of brush and of course right into plain sight. And the very instant he jumped there came another great roar behind him. Of course it was from Bowser the Hound. You see, Bowser had been following the trail of the boy, and since he always stops to sniff at everything he passes, he had been some distance behind. When he came to the pile of brush under which Peter was hiding he had sniffed at that, and of course he had smelled Peter right away.

Now when Peter jumped out so suddenly he had landed right at one end of the dam. The second roar of Bowser’s great voice frightened him still more, and he jumped right up on the dam. There was nothing for him to do now except go across, and it wasn’t the best of going. You see, it was mostly a tangle of sticks. Happy Jack Squirrel or Chatterer the Red Squirrel or Striped Chipmunk would have skipped across it without the least bit of trouble. Peter Rabbit however has no sharp little claws with which to cling to logs and sticks, and right away he was in a heap of trouble. He slipped down between the sticks, scrambled out, slipped again, and then, trying to make a long jump, he lost his balance and tumbled head over heels into the water!

Poor Peter Rabbit! He gave himself up for lost this time. He could swim only just a little and doesn’t like the water. He couldn’t dive and keep out of sight like Jerry Muskrat or Billy Mink. All he could do was to paddle as fast as his legs would go. The water had gone up his nose and down his throat so that he choked, and all the time he felt sure that Bowser the Hound would plunge in after him and catch him. And if he didn’t, why Farmer Brown’s Boy would simply wait for him to come ashore and then catch him.

However, Farmer Brown’s boy didn’t do anything of the kind. Instead he shouted to Bowser and called him away. Bowser didn’t want to come and yet very slowly he walked over to where Farmer Brown’s boy was sitting.

“You know it wouldn’t be fair, old fellow, to try to catch Peter now. It wouldn’t be fair at all, and we never want to do anything unfair, do we?” he said. Whether Bowser agreed or not he simply wagged his tail as if he did and sat down to watch Peter swim.

It seemed to Peter as if he never, ever would reach the shore, though really it was only a very little distance that he had to swim. When he did scramble out, he was a soggy looking Rabbit. He didn’t waste any time, and started for home as fast as he could go, lipperty–lipperty–lip.

“Well, I never!” exclaimed Sammy Jay, who had seen it all from the top of a pine tree. “Well, I never! I guess Farmer Brown’s boy is quite nice after all.”

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 15 HERE

 Where did all the beaver tree stumps go along the river bank?

Hint: A Thick Blanket of White!

Video 16 HERE

Guess who popped up out of the ice?

Paddy sure has been busy even with the 20 inches of snow from the latest storm!

Collection of all BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 7 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

Story + Local Videos

CHAPTER 7

Farmer Brown’s Boy Gets Another Surprise

Across the Old Pasture and on to the foot of the Mountain and back of the Green Forest tramped Farmer Brown’s boy. Ahead of him trotted Bowser the Hound, sniffing and snuffing for the tracks of Reddy or Granny Fox. Of course he didn’t find them, for Reddy and Granny hadn’t been up in the Old Pasture for a long time. He did find old Jed Thumper, the big gray Rabbit and gave him such a fright that old Jed didn’t look where he was going and almost ran headfirst into Farmer Brown’s boy.

“Hi, there, you old cottontail!” yelled Farmer Brown’s boy, and this frightened Old Jed still more, so that he actually ran right past his own castle of bull-briars without seeing it.

Farmer Brown’s boy kept on his way, chuckling at the sight of old Jed Thumper. Presently he reached the springs from which came the water that made the very beginning of the Laughing Brook. He expected to find them dry, for way down on the Green Meadows the Smiling Pool was nearly dry, and the Laughing Brook was nearly dry, and he had supposed that of course the reason was that the springs where the Laughing Brook started were no longer bubbling.

And yet they were! The clear cold water came bubbling up out of the ground just as it always had, and ran off down into the Green Forest in a little stream that would grow and grow as it ran and became the Laughing Brook. Farmer Brown’s boy took off his ragged old straw hat and scowled down at the bubbling water just as if he thought it had no business to be bubbling there.

He didn’t know what to think. Here were the springs bubbling away just as they always had. There was the little stream starting off down into the Green Forest with a gurgle that by and by would become a laugh, just as it always had. And yet down on the Green Meadows on the other side of the Green Forest there was no longer a Laughing Brook or a Smiling Pool. He felt as if he ought to pinch himself to make sure that he was awake and not dreaming.

“I don’t know what it means,” he said talking out loud, ”however I’m going to find out. There’s a reason for everything in this world and I’m going to find out what has happened to the Laughing Brook, even if it takes me a year!”

With that he started to follow the little stream which ran gurgling down into the Green Forest. He had followed that little stream more than once, and now he found it just as he remembered it. The farther it ran, the larger it grew, until at last it became the Laughing Brook, merrily tumbling over rocks and making deep pools in which the trout loved to hide. At last he came to the edge of a little open hollow in the very heart of the Green Forest. He knew what splendid deep holes there were in the Laughing Brook here, and how the big trout loved to lie in them because they were deep and cool. He was thinking of these trout now and wishing that he had brought along his fishing rod. He pushed his way through a thicket of alders and then Farmer Brown’s boy stopped suddenly and fairly gasped! He had to stop because there right in front of him was a pond!

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Then he stooped down and put his hand in the water to see if it was real. There was no doubt about it. It was real water and a real pond where there never had been a pond before.

It was very still there in the heart of the Green Forest. It was always very still there, and yet it seemed stiller than usual as he tramped around the edge of this strange pond. He felt as if it were all a dream. He wondered if pretty soon he wouldn’t wake up and find it all untrue. However he didn’t, and so he kept on tramping until presently he came to a dam, a splendid dam of logs and sticks and mud. Over the top of it the water was running, and down in the Green Forest below he could hear the Laughing Brook just beginning to laugh once more. Farmer Brown’s boy sat down with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He was almost too surprised to even think.

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 13 HERE

The beaver dam is holding up to heavy rains and the water level continues to rise.

 Video 14 HERE

 The beaver dam is still holding with some water trickling out the bottom and a layer of ice extending the length of the beaver canal.

❤ ❤ ❤

Collection of all BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 6 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

Story + Local Videos

CHAPTER 6

Farmer Brown’s Boy Grows Curious

Now it happened that the very day before Paddy the Beaver decided that his pond was big enough, and so allowed the water to run in the Laughing Brook once more, Farmer Brown’s boy took it into his head to go fishing in the Smiling Pool. Just as usual he went whistling down across the Green Meadows. Somehow, when he goes fishing, he always feels like whistling. Grandfather Frog heard him coming and dove into the little bit of water remaining in the Smiling Pool and stirred up the mud at the bottom so that Farmer Brown’s boy shouldn’t see him.

Nearer and nearer drew the whistle. Suddenly it stopped short as Farmer Brown’s boy had come in sight of the Smiling Pool or rather, it was what used to be the Smiling Pool. Now there wasn’t any Smiling Pool, for the very little pool left was too small and drained looking to smile. There were great banks of mud, out of which grew the bulrushes. The lily pads were forlornly stretched out towards the tiny pool of water remaining. Where the banks were steep and high, the holes that Jerry Muskrat and Billy Mink knew so well were plain to see. Over at one side stood Jerry Muskrat’s house completely out of water.

Somehow, it seemed to Farmer Brown’s boy that he must be dreaming. He never, never had seen anything like this before, not even in the very driest weather of the hottest part of the summer. He looked this way and looked that way. The Green Meadows looked just as usual. The Green Forest looked just as usual. The Laughing Brook – – -Aha! What was the matter with the Laughing Brook? He couldn’t hear it and that, you know, was very unusual.

He dropped his rod and ran over to the Laughing Brook. There wasn’t any brook just pools of water with the tiniest of streams trickling between. Big stones over which he had always seen the water running in the prettiest of little white falls were bare and dry. In the little pools minnows were darting about as he cast a shadow over the little water that was left.

Farmer Brown’s boy scratched his head in a puzzled way. “I don’t understand it,” he said. “I don’t understand it at all. Something must have gone wrong with the springs that supply the water for the Laughing Brook. They must have failed although I never have heard of such a thing happening before, and I really don’t see how it could happen.” He stared up into the Green Forest just as if he thought he could see those springs. Of course, he didn’t think anything of the kind. He was just turning it all over in his mind. “I know what I’ll do! I’ll go up to those springs this afternoon and find out what the trouble is,” he said out loud. “They are way over almost on the other side of the Green Forest, and the easiest way to get there will be to start from home and cut across the Old Pasture up to the edge of the Mountain behind the Green Forest. If I try to follow up the Laughing Brook now, it will take too long, because it winds and twists so much”.

With that, Farmer Brown’s boy went back and picked up his rod. Then he started for home across the Green Meadows, and for once he wasn’t whistling. You see, he was too busy thinking. In fact, he was so busy thinking that he didn’t see Jimmy Skunk until he almost stepped on him, and then he gave a frightened jump and ran.

Jimmy Skunk just grinned and went on about his business. It always tickles Jimmy to see people run away from him, especially people so much bigger than himself; they look so silly.

“I should think that they would have learned by this time that if they don’t bother me, I won’t bother them,” he muttered, as he rolled over a stone to look for fat beetles. “Somehow, folks never seem to understand me.”

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 11 HERE

 See “before” video of this quaking aspen near the beaver canal.

 Video 12 HERE

 See “after” video of what Paddy the Beaver has been up to!

❤ ❤ ❤

Collection of all local BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 5 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

Story + Local Videos

CHAPTER 5

Paddy Keeps His Promise

Paddy the Beaver kept right on working just as if he hadn’t any visitors. You see, it is a big undertaking to build a dam. And when that was done there was a house to build and a supply of food for the winter to cut and store.

At first it didn’t look much like a dam and some of Paddy’s visitors expectations were not met. They had heard stories of what a wonderful dam builder Paddy was, and they had expected to see something like the smooth, grass covered bank with which Farmer Brown kept the Big River from running back on his low lands. Instead, all they saw was a great pile of poles and sticks which looked nothing like a dam to them.

“Pooh!” exclaimed Billy Mink, “I guess we needn’t worry about the Laughing Brook and the Smiling Pool, why, the water of the Laughing Brook will work through that pile of sticks in no time.”

Of course Paddy heard him, said nothing, and just kept right on working.

“Just look at the way he has laid those sticks!” continued Billy Mink. “Why didn’t he lay them across the Laughing Brook instead of just the other way?”

Paddy said nothing; he just kept right on working.

”Why, that pile of sticks will never stop the water,” Billy repeated in disbelief.

“Wait a minute Billy Mink, I think you need to take another closer look” said Jerry Muskrat.

Billy squinted his eyes and stared and said “Nope I still don’t get it.”

“Did you notice that the Laughing Brook is over its banks above Paddy’s dam?” replied Jerry, who had been studying the dam with a great deal of interest.

Then Billy took a longer look and sure enough there was a little pool just above the dam, and it was growing bigger.

Paddy still kept at work, saying nothing. He was digging in front of the dam now, and the mud and grass he dug up he stuffed in between the ends of the sticks and patted down with his hands. He did this all along the front of the dam and on top of it too, wherever he thought it was needed. Of course this made it harder for the water to work through, and the little pond above the dam began to grow faster. It wasn’t too long before it was nearly to the top of the dam, which at first was very low. Then Paddy brought more sticks. This was easier now because he could float them down from where he was cutting. He would put them in place on the top of the dam, then hurry for more. Wherever it was needed, he would put in mud. He even rolled a few stones in to help hold the mass.

So the dam grew and grew and so did the pond above the dam. Of course, it took a good many days to build so big a dam, and a lot of hard work! Every morning the little folks of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows would visit it, and every morning they would find that it had grown a great deal in the night, for that is when Paddy likes best to work.

Now by this time, the Laughing Brook had stopped laughing, and down in the Smiling Pool there was hardly water enough for the minnows to feel safe for a minute. The little folks who live in the Laughing Brook and the Smiling Pool were beginning to worry.

To be sure Paddy had warned them of what he was going to do, and had promised that just as soon as his pond was big enough, the water would once more run in the Laughing Brook. They tried to believe him, and yet they couldn’t help having just a wee bit of concern since this was new for most of them. Jerry Muskrat was the only one who seemed absolutely sure that everything would be all right. Perhaps that was because Paddy is his cousin, and Jerry couldn’t help feel a bit of pride watching his big cousin build something so amazing.

So day by day the dam grew, and the pond grew, and then one morning Grandfather Frog, down in what had once been the Smiling Pool, heard a sound that made his heart jump for joy. It was a murmur that kept growing and growing, until at last it was the merry laugh of the
Laughing Brook. Then he knew that Paddy had kept his word and water would once more fill the Smiling Pool. Hooray!

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 9 HERE

 See how the recent storm with rain, sleet, and snow has impacted the beaver canal.

 Video 10 HERE

 See a close-up inspection of the beaver dam and rising water levels.

❤ ❤ ❤

Collection of all local BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 4 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

Story +Local Videos

CHAPTER 4

Sammy Jay Speaks Up and Gets Curious

When Sammy Jay reached the place deep in the Green Forest where Paddy the Beaver was so hard at work, he didn’t hide as had the little four footed people. You see he had no reason to hide because he felt perfectly safe up in the trees. Paddy had just cut a big tree and it fell with a crash as Sammy came hurrying up. Sammy was so surprised that for a minute he couldn’t speak. He had not supposed that anybody except Farmer Brown or Farmer Brown’s boy could cut down so large a tree as that, and it quite took his breath away. “How in the world did you do that?” Sammy asked with great curiosity once he got his voice back.

Paddy the Beaver looked up with a twinkle in his eyes. “Oh, hello, Mr. Jay! I suspect you are not accustom to trees crashing down unless it is in a storm when rough Brother North Wind whips up!” he said.

“Absolutely right you are!” said Sammy, hopping up and down, as he was still startled.

“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Peter Rabbit down below, who had quite forgotten that he was hiding.

“Oh, how do you do, Mr. Rabbit? I’m very glad you have called on me this morning,” said Paddy, just as if he hadn’t known all the time just where Peter was. “Mr. Jay seems to have been startled this morning by my work. And what about you Peter?”

Peter laughed again. ” Oh, I’m alright as long as I stay here tucked out of the way while you make those trees come crashing down. It was worth it just to see Sammy Jay jump!”

Sammy Jay looked down at Peter. Then he looked over at Paddy. All Sammy could do was shake his head and then inch closer to inspect what Paddy was doing. Paddy kept right on working, paying no attention to Sammy looking on from overhead. This made Sammy even more curious and so he kept coming nearer and nearer until at last he was in the very tree that Paddy happened to be cutting. Paddy’s eyes twinkled.

Just at that moment Paddy thumped the ground with his tail, which is his way of warning folks to watch out, and suddenly scurried away as fast as he could run. Sammy Jay was so surprised and he suddenly felt himself falling. With barely time for a screech he spread his wings to fly and branches of the tree swept him down right with them into the Laughing Brook.

You see while Sammy had been trying to figure out how the trees were being cut by Paddy’s big teeth, Paddy the Beaver had cut down the very tree in which Sammy was sitting.

Thankfully Sammy wasn’t hurt, he was just wet and muddy. And for the moment, Sammy was the most miserable looking Jay that you ever did see.

Paddy the Beaver immediately spoke to all the little folks from the Green Meadows and Smiling Pool who were still new to his work and he said “this is a building site folks and you need to stay clear of my work so that no one else lands in the mud!”

The little folks who were hiding all nodded in agreement and then a slight chuckle rippled through the Green Forest as they all looked at the soggy Sammy Jay. Even Sammy had to laugh on the inside just the tiniest bit as he began to clean his feathers and then flew off to make his way back to the Green Meadows.

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 7 HERE

 Hear an update looking above and in the beaver canal.

Video 8 HERE

 Still harvesting beaver food – see the wood chips and teeth marks up close!

Collection of all local BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

 ❤ ❤ ❤

Compliment your purchase of this P.L.A.Y. guide with these other great beaver reads found at your local library.

At Home with the Beaver: The Story of a Keystone Species

by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent + photographed by Michael Runtz

This short and sweet book gives a nice look into beaver life and prepares you to then request at your local library a copy of Michael Runtz’s 400 page coffee table book of amazing beaver photographs.

BARK: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast

by Michael Wojtech

This helpful guide will show you and your family how to distinguish the textures, shapes, and colors of bark to then recognize various tree species throughout New England including the ones Paddy the Beaver used to build his dam and fill his food storage.

Excellent guide book especially for when the leaves are down and you are looking for answers in the middle of winter!

❤ ❤ ❤

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 3 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

Story + Local Videos

Chapter 3

Paddy Has Many Visitors

Paddy the Beaver knew perfectly well that he would have visitors just as soon as he began to build his dam. He expected a lot of them. You see, he knew that none of them had ever seen a Beaver at work who had come down from the North. So as he worked he kept his ears open and he smiled to himself as he heard a little rustle here and then a little rustle there. He knew just what those little rustles meant. Each rustle meant another visitor and yet not one had shown himself.

Paddy chuckled and said in a loud voice, just as if he were talking to nobody in particular, “Seems to me that you are dreadfully afraid to show yourselves”. Everything was still. There wasn’t so much as a peep after Paddy spoke. He chuckled again. He could just feel ever so many eyes watching him, though he didn’t see a single pair. And he knew that the reason his visitors were hiding so carefully was because they were afraid of him. You see, Paddy was much bigger than most of the little meadow and forest people, and they didn’t know what to expect from him.

Of course, Paddy knew all about this and so he kept right on cutting trees, trimming off the branches, and hauling the trunks down to the dam he was building as the visitors continued to watch with curiosity. Some of the tree trunks Paddy floated down the Laughing Brook which was much easier than carrying them.

Now when the little folks of the Smiling Pool, who were the first to find out that Paddy the Beaver had come to the Green Forest, had started up the Laughing Brook to see what he was doing, they had told the Merry Little Breezes where they were going. The Merry Little Breezes had been greatly excited. They couldn’t understand how a stranger could have been living in the Green Forest without their knowledge. You see, they quite forgot that they very seldom wandered to the deepest part of the Green Forest. Of course they started at once as fast as they could go to tell all the other little folks who live on or around the Green Meadows, all except Old Man Coyote. For some reason they thought it best not to tell him as they were a little doubtful about Old Man Coyote. He was so big and strong and so sly and smart that all his neighbors were afraid of him. Perhaps the Merry Little Breezes had this fact in mind and knew that none would dare go to call on the stranger if they knew that Old Man Coyote was going to visit too. Anyway, they simply passed the time of day with Old Man Coyote and hurried on to tell everyone else, and the very last one they met was Sammy Jay.

Sammy was surprised that anything should be going on that he didn’t know about first. He started after the Merry Little Breezes for the place deep in the Green Forest where they said Paddy the Beaver was at work as he wanted to see for himself.

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 5 HERE

See the 3 new trees Paddy gnawed off and help count the grand total … so far!

Video 6 HERE

Review the trees being taken and how they get into the beaver canal for transport.

Collection of all local BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

 ❤ ❤ ❤

Compliment your purchase of this P.L.A.Y. guide with these other great beaver reads found at your local library.

Build, Beaver, Build! Life at the Longest Beaver Dam

by Sandra Markle and Illustrations by Deborah Hocking

This is an enjoyable story told through the eyes and experience of a new beaver kit as they help their parents maintain one of the longest beaver dams. Super sweet illustrations accompany this adorable and true to life story of how beaver family’s spend their days.

Poppy & Rye

by AVI

Just for fun try this twist on a beaver tale in this fictional chapter story book with two beloved mouse characters, Poppy & Rye, from the Dimwood Forest Chronicles, who encounter a family of beavers led by Mr. Caster B. Canad, and all the challenges they encounter trying to share the brook and forest.

❤ ❤ ❤

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 2 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

 Story + Local Videos

CHAPTER 2

Paddy Plans a Pond

Paddy the Beaver was busy cutting down trees for the dam he had planned to build. Up in the woods of the North from which he had come to the Green Forest he had learned all about tree cutting, dam building, canal digging, and house building. Paddy’s father and mother had been very wise in the ways of the Beaver world, sharing what they knew and Paddy had been quick to learn. So now he knew just what to do and the best way of doing it.

He carefully picked out the trees to cut. He could not afford to waste time cutting down a tree that wasn’t going to be just what he wanted when it was down. When he was sure that the tree was right, he looked up at the top to find out whether, when he had cut it, it would fall clear of other trees. He had learned to do that when he was quite young. He had to remember to cut it just a certain way so that when it fell the top would not get caught in another tree and it would fall just where he wanted it.

Then he sat up on his hind legs, and with his great broad tail for a brace, began to make the chips fly. You know Paddy has the most wonderful teeth for cutting. They are long and broad and sharp. He would begin by making a deep bite and then another just a little way below. Then he would pry out the little piece of wood between. When he had cut very deep on one side so that the tree would fall that way he would work around to the other side. Just as soon as the tree began to lean and he was sure that it was going to fall he would scamper away so as to be out of danger. He loved to see those tall trees lean forward slowly, then faster and faster, till they struck the ground with a crash!

Just as soon as they were down he would trim off the branches until the trees were just long poles. This was easy work, for he could take off a good sized branch with one bite. On many he left their bushy tops. When he had trimmed them to suit him and had cut them into the right lengths, he would tug and pull them down to the place where he intended to build his dam.

There he placed the poles side by side, not across the Laughing Brook like a bridge, instead with the big ends pointing up the Laughing Brook, which was quite broad and yet shallow right there. To keep them from floating away, he rolled stones and piled mud on the bushy ends. Clear across on both sides he laid those poles until the land began to rise. Then he dragged more poles and piled on top of these and wedged short sticks crosswise between them.

And all the while the Laughing Brook was having a harder and harder time running. The merry laugh of the brook grew less merry and finally almost stopped, because, you see, the water could not get through all those poles and sticks fast enough. It was just about that time that the little people of the Smiling Pool decided that it was best to go see what Paddy was doing. They started up the Laughing Brook, leaving only Grandfather Frog and the tadpoles in the Smiling Pool, which for a little while would smile no more.

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

❤ ❤ ❤

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 3 HERE

See the water channel behind this dam that Paddy has made for storing his food sticks for the winter.

Paddy built a small dam at the end of the beaver channel to raise the water level up to harvest and store aspen tree branches.

Video 4 HERE

Trees gnawed by Paddy into the water and winter food storage.

Beaver channel near the river with a small dam in the background and gnawed quaking aspen trees in the foreground.

Collection of all local BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

 ❤ ❤ ❤

  Compliment your purchase of this P.L.A.Y. guide with these other great beaver reads found at your local library.

A Beaver Tale: The Castors of Conners Creek

Written and Illustrated by Gerald Wykes

 A fun and true story about a beaver family returning to the Detroit River after beavers being absent in the area for over 150 years.

Full color illustrations and elementary age readability.

Lily Pond: Four Years with a Family of Beavers

by Hope Ryden

Hope Ryden stands on the shoulders of giants like Dorothy Richards and continues the study of beavers in their habitat by observing beavers at Lily Pond in Harriman State Park in New York for four years through all seasons.

This book takes up where Dorothy’s book leaves off in terms of discovering more behaviors and reasons why beavers are so important to our ecosystems.

Independent reader recommended.

Note: There is also a black & white picture book that is simply a shorter version of this chapter book.

❤ ❤ ❤

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Beaver BOOK LOOK – Chapter 1 – The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated)

 Story + Local Videos

CHAPTER 1

Paddy the Beaver’s Work and Play

Work, work all the night
While the stars are shining bright;
Work, work all the day;
My work is my play. Hooray!

This little rhyme Paddy the Beaver made up as he toiled at building the dam which was to make the pond he so much desired deep in the beautiful Green Forest. Of course it wasn’t quite true, that about working all night and all day. Nobody could do that, you know, and keep it up. Everybody has to rest and sleep sometime. You see what was true is his work was play and play was his work as you will soon discover. It was also true that Paddy had oh so much to do because he had one kind of playtime during the long summer and now he had another kind of work and play time to get ready for the long cold winter.

Of all the little workers in the Green Forest, on the Green Meadows, and in the Smiling Pool, none could compare their work with that of Paddy the Beaver, not even his cousin, Jerry Muskrat. Happy Jack Squirrel and Striped Chipmunk stored up food for the long cold months when rough Brother North Wind and Jack Frost rule, and Jerry Muskrat builds a fine house where he keeps warm and comfortable. However, all this does not compare to the kind of work done by Paddy the Beaver as you will soon see.

And so, Paddy had a wonderfully long playtime through the summer. He wandered up and down the Laughing Brook. He followed it way up to the place where it started. And all the time he had been studying and surveying to make sure that he wanted to stay in the Green Forest.

For as beautiful as it was he first had to be sure that there was plenty of the kind of food that he likes. Then he had to be equally sure that he could make a pond near where this particular food grew. Last of all, he had to satisfy himself that if he did make a pond and build a home, he would be reasonably safe in it. And all of these things he had done in his summer playtime. Now he was ready to get to the play-filled work of preparing for winter.

Paddy the Beaver can see at night just like Reddy Fox, Peter Rabbit, and Bobby Coon. He seems to prefer the night because he feels safest then. However, he can see in the daytime also, and when he feels that he is perfectly safe and no one is watching, he works then too. So the first thing Paddy had to do was to build a dam across the Laughing Brook to make the pond he so much needed. He chose a low open place deep in the Green Forest, around the edge of which grew many young aspen trees, the bark of which is his favorite food. Through the middle of this open place flowed the Laughing Brook. At the lower edge was just the right place for a dam. It would not have to be very long, and when it was finished and the water was stopped in the Laughing Brook, it would just have to flow over the low open place and make a pond there. Paddy’s eyes twinkled when he first saw it. It was at that moment that he made up his mind to stay in the Green Forest.

So now that he was ready to begin his dam he went up the Laughing Brook to a place where alders and willows grew, and there he began work. His work was the cutting of a great number of trees by means of his big front teeth which were given him for just this purpose. And as he worked, Paddy felt happy for this was what he was born to do.

Purchase your copy of this P.L.A.Y. story adventure HERE!

The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Story Activity Book

by Karen L. Willard

Learn all about amazing beaver behaviors in this P.L.A.Y.-filled nature story activity book based on the Thornton Burgess animal adventure series.

❤ ❤ ❤

This P.L.A.Y. guide book provides hours of entertainment as a read aloud to share with the whole family, a community group, in a classroom, or to simply curl up with solo.

The BONUS P.L.A.Y. guide pages include opportunities to:

  • illustrate each chapter

  • photos shared of real beaver activity

  • tree themed and blank nature journaling pages

  • recommended resources and so much more

❤ ❤ ❤

Bonus!!! 

P.L.A.Y. Beaver VIDEO Series

Video 1 HERE

Sneak Peek for Chapter 15!

Old Man Coyote’s footprint in the mud near Paddy’s home.

Coyote footprint in the mud by the river’s edge.

Video 2 HERE

Sneak Peek for Chapter 14!

Quaking Aspen trees, Paddy’s favorite food, going – going – gone!

Quaking Aspen still standing near the river’s edge . . . for now.

Collection of all Local BEAVER videos #1-24 on PINTEREST

From January 2019 to March 2020 Karen P.L.A.Y.fully captured signs of a beaver’s local activities at her home in the hilltowns of Massachusetts to pin and share the adventures with you on her Pinterest Beaver Board.

  Compliment your purchase of this P.L.A.Y. guide with these other great beaver reads found at your local library.

Beaver Kits by Ruth Owen

This is a sweet and simple full color photo introduction book to all the basics about beavers.

Find out what beavers eat, where they live, and what they like to build.

Written with the young reader in mind and a part of the Wild Baby Animals series.

Beaversprite: My Years Building an Animal Sanctuary

by Dorothy Richards

This book was published in 1977 to share Dorothy’s 40+ years of experience raising beavers at her home to help restore the near extinct population of beavers in the state of New York.

Dorothy does a wonderful job of retelling of her adventures, especially through the eyes of someone who became a life learner and advocate of the beavers having had no experience with these animals prior to receiving her first pair in the 1930’s.

This book is highly recommended and is appropriate for an independent reader or to share sections as a read aloud for the whole family.

❤ ❤ ❤

Purchase other P.L.A.Y. nature story books and adventure guides HERE.

Toad BOOK LOOK #12: Curious Questions + The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (Annotated)

 Why is the female carrying the male to the water vs. meeting in the water to mate?

Most of the pairs of mating toads that I observed down at the river’s edge were all in the water. One day this pair of toads hopped by on the sandy beach and I couldn’t help wonder why she was carrying him across the land which is much heavier than if she just carried him in the water.

 Visit PINTEREST to see a video of these two toads sitting perfectly still without even blinking as the chorus of toads swells all around them at the river’s edge.

This pair of toads, male on top and female on the bottom, are using the buoyancy factor of the water for the female to easily navigate while the male holds on.

P.L.A.Y. Adventure Time 

What does it feel like to carry someone on your back on land and then to try carrying that same person on your back in water?

This summer, safely so as not to injure you or your loved one, select someone smaller than you and try this experiment.

It provides appreciation for how animals have to navigate naturally and the strength it takes both in and out of the water!

 ~ ~ ~ BOOK LOOK ~ ~ ~

The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Activity Story Book 

by Karen L. Willard

Join Peter Rabbit and friends on adventures discovering all about Old Mr. Toad and his days spent in and out of the water!

See sample story pages + purchase HERE

More Tadpoles + Toads in motion at PINTEREST HERE.

Toad BOOK LOOK #11: WARNING Graphic Photos + The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (Annotated)

WARNING: Graphic Biology PHOTOS

Why would a butterfly feed on a dead toad?

My resident butterfly expert (aka my daughter) was actually able to quickly answer this question when I returned from my walk and shared this photo and video with her. I’ll let you uncover the mystery – (video HERE on Pinterest).

Why would females have their heads bit off and not the males?

I’ve been pondering this question since late spring when the toads were mating and I discovered a total of 10 females over 2 weeks time with their heads bitten off. Last year I only discovered one female like this.

So far the mystery remains as all I have found in my search is that some animals bite off the heads and eat the rest of the toad (not in this case) and the head is very toxic.

P.L.A.Y. Adventure Time

  • Sometimes we come upon unexpected things out in nature and they may be challenging to look at for some or fascinating to others. As a family it is important to honor everyone’s P.L.A.Y. time and respect how each person needs to proceed be it curiosity from afar or curiosity close-up. Communicating our needs, at all ages and stages, is key as we explore the great outdoors and the nature of all things.
  • Do you have any recent mysteries that you’ve seen outdoors? Do you have a bunch of unanswered questions? Capture them in a notebook and keep your eyes open and keep searching for answers. You’ll be surprised where the mysteries take you!

 ~ ~ ~ BOOK LOOK ~ ~ ~

The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (Annotated):

A P.L.A.Y. Nature Activity Story Book 

by Karen L. Willard

Join Peter Rabbit and friends on adventures discovering all about Old Mr. Toad and his days spent in and out of the water!

See sample story pages + purchase HERE

More Tadpoles + Toads in motion at PINTEREST HERE.