The Home That Beaver Built
Christine Pym
Scholastic

One day after a long search Beaver finds the perfect place to build herself a new home. This she does competently and before long it’s ready to move in to. “It’s perfect!” sighs Beaver as she settles down to sleep. Sleep however, is not what comes: instead frog arrives declaring the pond, and in particular its lily pads, just the place for a frog’s home. You can imagine how Beaver feels. But things get even worse when a vole, and then two geese, a water shrew and other creatures appear, declaring that Beaver is a great engineer and that the home is sure to be a happy place for them all. No longer able to contain her anger, Beaver yells out, telling the other animals to go away. Hasty apologies from newcomers ensue and off they go. However very soon Beaver begins to miss those neighbours, particularly when a thunderstorm causes the river water to rise and destroy her dam.
Frightened and alone, clutching a log, Beaver floats down the river crying for help. Fortunately xgoose flying by with a branch in its beak comes to her rescue and the other animals drag her safely ashore. Apologies from Beaver quickly follow and then the creatures work together to construct a home sufficiently large to accommodate them all. Teamwork wins the day and surrounded by her friends, Beaver realises that “Home is more than a place, it’s where you feel you belong.”