Raccoon moon

PreS^-Gr. 2. It's hard not to become enamored with the small raccoon that adorns the cover of this slightly anthropomorphized look at the animal's life cycle. The story begins in an old silver maple, when the raccoon cubs Rusty, Rudy, and Spice are born--four inches long and weighing about as much as a candy bar. Days pass, and the cubs open their eyes; months pass, and the cubs grow, leave their tree, and forage for food. They learn who their enemies are, and they find danger in the form of a dog. By the time a year passes, the cubs, well taught by their mother, are ready to find their own dens. Beautifully illustrated with bold, impeccably rendered paintings that capture the raccoons' individualities and habits as well as the march of the seasons, the book will draw children right into the science. A page entitled "How to Help Baby Raccoons" sends a somewhat contradictory message; although it emphasizes that abandoned cubs need professional care and that children should never approach a wild animal, it supplies information on caring for babies on a temporary basis. That said, this is still an informative and appealing choice. "Fun facts," a glossary, and some trivia are appended. --Ilene Cooper

K-Gr 3-Willis follows her wonderful exploration of The Robins in Your Backyard (Birdsong, 1998) with an equally charming narrative about frequent backyard marauders. Her story traces the life of a raccoon family from the cubs' birth under the April moon to their winter's sleep. Facts are seamlessly woven into the narrative ("Rudy and Spice rip the ears of corn from the stalks. Rusty tears away the husk and devours the plump, yellow kernels. He can eat five pounds of food a night"). Brilliant, realistic paintings make the mother and her three cubs come to life. Willis joins the ranks of wildlife artists and writers like Jim Arnosky (Raccoons and Ripe Corn [Morrow, 1991]) and others, who offer young readers a chance to experience the wonder of real animals closely observed.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.