The Superpower Field Guide: Beavers - Book Review

The Superpower Field Guide: Beavers
Written by Rachel Poliquin
Illustrated by Nicholas John Frith
Published December 4, 2018

Why we chose this book:
We have been on a nature kick lately, we recently saw a beaver-felled tree at the EcoTarium, and we are newly interested in wetlands since reading Fun in the Mud. Elmer is advertised as a "wetlands warrior," which is part of what caught my attention. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided a review copy.

Mom's Review

An entertaining, engaging, informative book about beavers.

It's the tone and artwork that set this book apart from other informational animal books. The style, as you see from the cover, is that of 50's and 60's advertisements, which I really like! And the tone is that of someone trying to sell you on this critter. Divided into sections based on "superpower," readers acquire a wealth of knowledge about the beaver, from his ever-growing orange teeth to his poop-eating habits to how he can build a dam visible from space. Language and tone keep kids' attention, and quizzes throughout keep them on their toes. And if you happen to watch Lady and the Tramp after reading this, you'll be able to point out that the beaver who bites off Lady's muzzle has teeth the wrong color! Can you guess what movie we watched for movie night?

In addition to the writing and art style, what I like so much about Beavers is the level of detail imparted by the narrator who directly addresses the audience. As you might expect in conversation, the narrator seems to follow tangents, but really she is imparting more information about beavers. T and I both enjoy learning about animals, but this book was more than merely informative.  I never thought I'd say this about a book on North American beavers, but the book is fascinating and fun! Awesome, awesome way to expand our understanding of the natural world! (And we learned how the beaver is a wetlands warrior -- it's always a plus to relate our reading to other books!)

With T, I read portions, paraphrased, and answers questions related to pictures and bolded phrases as we paged through. No surprise here, but his favorite part was the poop-eating part. Beavers need to digest the wood they eat several times, so they have to eat their own poop. Gross! And super awesome to a four-year-old! This is ideal for children a bit older (it's aimed at ages 7-10), but totally doable for a younger audience.

Son's Review
(Age: almost 4 years old)

Mom: Can you tell me about the book?

Son: It's about Elmers but not main Elmer. Main Elmer is in a different story. This is all about his family.

Mom: Who is Main Elmer?

Son: Main Elmer is who's on the cover. He's teaching you about his family.
(This book is actually also about Elmer.)

Mom: What are some cool things you learned? My favorite was that they have orange teeth. I hadn't known that.

Son: I liked learning that the beavers do super stinky things.

Mom: What do beavers eat? What kind of tree would you want to eat if you were a beaver?

Son: Trees. Cherry!

Mom: What superpower would you want?

Son: Size! Does he eat poop?
(I really hope that these are unrelated thoughts!)

Mom: Yes he does. It has to go through his body a few times.

Mom: Would you want to see a beaver? What would you want to see him do? Why?

Son: I would. Yeah. Eat its poop! [and] Flick his tail. 'Cuz I think that's interesting.

Mom: Do you remember what it means when he does that with his tail?.

Son: No.

Mom: Doesn't it send some kind of message?

Son: Danger!

Mom: That's right!

And you already know his favorite part without an "official" review question. It's the poop eating. Yuck!