Paddy: The Classic Story of a Baby Beaver and the Naturalist Who Adopted Him

by R.D. Lawrence

Illustrated with line drawings, a naturalist's true story of raising a baby beaver in the Canadian wilderness.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Wildlife, Memoir, Canada

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

R.D. Lawrence was a Canadian naturalist and wildlife author. Born aboard ship in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain on September 12, 1921, he moved to Canada in 1954. RD Lawrence died of Alzheimer's on November 27, 2003 in Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada.

RD Lawrence's many books are published in 26 countries and 15 languages and take us to animal habitats far from humans; to the boreal forests of North America alive with puma, beaver, bear, timber wolves and eagles, to the frigid waters of the Pacific Northwest where orcas thrive, and to the sharks of the Red Sea.

Reviews

[Tracee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much. I want to check out other books by this author. He comes through as such a dear soul in his books. I greatly admire him for the way he lived and for writing about these beavers.

[Lisa Kearns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of R.D. Lawrence, and this is the 6th book of his I've read. It's the wonderful story of Paddy, a baby beaver that R.D. rescued from a hawk. R.D. lived for four months in a tent near the pond where he rescued Paddy, studying the wildlife that lived in the area. Like his other books, the reader learns about the life cycle of various animals, predator/prey relationships, and of the passing of the seasons. Along with all of these folksy, educational stories are daily updates on Paddy's growth and behavior.

I love the way that R.D. helped rehabilitate so many animals in his lifetime, while respecting that they were wild and needed to return to their natural habitat. Even with Paddy, who slept in his sleeping bag with him at first, he worked to teach him the skills he needed to return to the pond. I was surprised to learn some of the facts about beavers and their family connections, but that's R.D. at his best - teaching us to love, understand and respect wildlife without our realizing it.

I loved this book and was sad as I turned the last page, but my favorite R.D. Lawrence book is still The North Runner.

[Lester Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It amazes me that there are naturalists that are willing to go into an undisturbed environment and observe the wildlife without altering it. In this case, the kits mother had been killed by a wolf, and R. D. ran across the abandoned kit in a poor condition. He took it upon himself to revive the tiny kit, and then slept in the same tent with it until it could use the nearby pool, and then gradually was readopted by the colony of beavers. R. D. returned the following year only to find the kit had matured, but still remembered him and came to greet him before returning to the colony. The descriptions are also amazing in the way that classic naturalists could capture the environment in words.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this story ages ago(my copy published in 1977 by AVON) when I borrowed it from my grandfather's collection of books. Fell in love! This is a terrific account of wild meets human - with positive results. Lawrence shares his experience with little Paddy over a few summers and learns/teaches us about beaver habits in the process. Really, a wonderful book!

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Paddy , writer and naturalist R.D. Lawrence goes to a forgotten, remote lake that an old friend memorialized to him over the years to rediscover it and to see how it has changed over the past fifty tears. He has set out to closely examine the lake and the animals who live by it.
He comes by an orphan beaver that he calls “Paddy”. This is their story.
Lawrence is a real outdoors-man, old school. He puts a lot of these kids featured in “Outside magazine” today to shame. He does not need all of that fancy, expensive gear. It is incredible to see what he gets by with in the 5 months that he spends here in the Canadian wilderness. He is incredibly patient, and an outstanding observer. A very good scientist and a writer who can really describe places and activity very, very well. This is a very good read, but I believe that the other book of his that I have already read, “Secret Go the Wolves “” is a bit better. I would start with that book if you are just getting into reading Lawrence.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite animal story. I read the abridged short story version a while ago and loved it. The abridged version focused mostly on Paddy's rescue, foster care and release.

This book is the long version, which includes more information about beavers in general, additional trip details and plenty of interesting side stories.

I love how mindful the author is when he is in the woods, carefully examining everything and enjoying the simple pleasure of being alone, surrounded by the beauty of nature.

I read an older hardcover version with illustrations by Bill Elliot:
Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1977
ISBN: 0-394-40403-3

[Scott Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming heart-warming story

[Carol C]

Susan Knapp loaned me this book to read when I was a child, and I loved it.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made my heart happy. A genuine and informative story that makes you long for a wilderness life.

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Move over Bambi to make room for Paddy! A few days after arriving at a pristine lake in Ontario, Lawrence stumbled across the meagre remains of a wolf kill and recognized that the prey had been a lactating female beaver. Frantic with concern over the kits who would be doomed to die with no mother to feed them, he searched and searched . . . and as with many quests, it's when you are about to give up that things begin happening. He raises the tiny creature--a true naturalist Lawrence never went anywhere without eye-droppers and powdered milk for just this sort of situation--over the course of the five months he is at the lake and by the time he leaves the beaver is re-adopted by his family, which isn't really a spoiler because this is a story that is all in the telling. Lawrence alternates information about beavers with his experiences that summer and at other times in the wild, along with that hard-earned wisdom of those who have really learned to observe thoughtfully and carefully. A wonderful book. *****

[Richard Hesslein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my kind of book that is a truly remarkable real life experiance of unusual depth and detail, likely rarely experianced and facinating!

[Pat Parkhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this adventure !!! I'm obsessed with reading all of his books ❤️ my true passion . What a man!!