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Living Forest #12
Calamity Jane
Nicknamed the "philosopher of the Forest, Sam Campbell was a writer, photographer, radio personality, promoter, lecturer, and especially a devoted student of living nature. His summer home was a game
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
About the author
Sam Campbell
78 books16 followersSamuel Arthur Campbell was born August 1, 1895 in Watseka, Iroquois County, Illinois. He was the youngest of two children born to Arthur J. and Katherine "Kittie" (née Lyman) Campbell.
Sam Campbell was many things including a writer, lecturer, photographer, and diligent student of nature. He studied wild animals from his home, which he called the Sanctuary of Wegimind, and during his various travels.
Sam been cited the finest ever in writing about nature, forest, and wildlife. Sam, the genial "philosopher of the forest", was known to more families and young people than any other author-lecturer. Hundreds of schools and audiences demanded his return year after year.
Campbell died April 13, 1962 in Barrington, Illinois.
Also visit the website : http://philosopheroftheforest.com/
Sam Campbell was many things including a writer, lecturer, photographer, and diligent student of nature. He studied wild animals from his home, which he called the Sanctuary of Wegimind, and during his various travels.
Sam been cited the finest ever in writing about nature, forest, and wildlife. Sam, the genial "philosopher of the forest", was known to more families and young people than any other author-lecturer. Hundreds of schools and audiences demanded his return year after year.
Campbell died April 13, 1962 in Barrington, Illinois.
Also visit the website : http://philosopheroftheforest.com/
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 19, 2018
A year in the life of a raccoon, particularly a female, is challenging and then there are the kits one must raise and teach to survive before winter comes and the cycle starts again. Calamity Jane is the final book of Sam Campbell’s Living Forest series, focusing on the year in the life of a raccoon introduced in Looney Coon yet in a different style than the rest of the series.
Campbell begins Jane’s story with her emerges from a several weeks long nap in mid-February to get out and about, eat some, and meet other raccoons especially one big male in particular. The book then shifts into spring as Jane reemerges on the hunt for food as quickly and as much as possible before having to feed her four kits. Taking up most of the book, the spring is when young kits are in the most danger first because they rely on their mother and then when they’re eyes open they begin exploring much to their mother’s fear in some cases. Eventually Eno, one of Jane’s kits, begins living with a nearby farmer and his family after a misadventure but later reconnects with his mother and siblings. The most shocking turn of events is the apparent death of Jane when hunters enter the Wildlife Refuge she lives in and attack her, though by then she had weened her kits off of needed her and able to survive on their own. But later that fall, Jane returns after proving harder to killer than the hunters expected to the joy of the farming family. The book ends back in the winter with Eno not comfortable his human family’s sleeping habits and heading back to his old home to get some much needed sleep with his siblings and mother.
Like Sweet Sue’s Adventures before it, Calamity Jane is written differently than other books in the series. Focusing on Jane and her kits, the book follows them in a style meant for young readers. With the addition of over 50 photographs, this book is definitely for young readers than readers for all ages. Given that Sam Campbell passed away the same year as this book was previously published, one wonders if his health changed the way he wrote the last two books of this series though interesting information for nature’s citizens isn’t diminished.
Calamity Jane like its predecessor is a children’s book to get them interested in nature and giving them a wonderful introduction to Sam Campbell’s writing so they can be interested in the other books in the Living Forest series.
Campbell begins Jane’s story with her emerges from a several weeks long nap in mid-February to get out and about, eat some, and meet other raccoons especially one big male in particular. The book then shifts into spring as Jane reemerges on the hunt for food as quickly and as much as possible before having to feed her four kits. Taking up most of the book, the spring is when young kits are in the most danger first because they rely on their mother and then when they’re eyes open they begin exploring much to their mother’s fear in some cases. Eventually Eno, one of Jane’s kits, begins living with a nearby farmer and his family after a misadventure but later reconnects with his mother and siblings. The most shocking turn of events is the apparent death of Jane when hunters enter the Wildlife Refuge she lives in and attack her, though by then she had weened her kits off of needed her and able to survive on their own. But later that fall, Jane returns after proving harder to killer than the hunters expected to the joy of the farming family. The book ends back in the winter with Eno not comfortable his human family’s sleeping habits and heading back to his old home to get some much needed sleep with his siblings and mother.
Like Sweet Sue’s Adventures before it, Calamity Jane is written differently than other books in the series. Focusing on Jane and her kits, the book follows them in a style meant for young readers. With the addition of over 50 photographs, this book is definitely for young readers than readers for all ages. Given that Sam Campbell passed away the same year as this book was previously published, one wonders if his health changed the way he wrote the last two books of this series though interesting information for nature’s citizens isn’t diminished.
Calamity Jane like its predecessor is a children’s book to get them interested in nature and giving them a wonderful introduction to Sam Campbell’s writing so they can be interested in the other books in the Living Forest series.
May 1, 2023
This is a quick read and would be a great read aloud for 8 to 10 year old kids. The photographs in Calamity Jane are much more clear than in Sweet Sue's Adventures. This is different from many of the books by Sam Campbell because it focuses mainly on the raccoons, Sam Campbell isn't in the story, and it's written in third person perspective. Kids will enjoy Calamity Jane's adventures and seeing the pictures of the baby raccoons.
August 22, 2021
I think if I’d read the photo book instead of listening to the audiobook I would have given this 4 stars.
January 1, 2016
This story is about a mother raccoon by the name of Calamity Jane. It has 52 black and white photos in it of the raccoon family. Very informative book about the ways of the wild creature of the forest.
The last two books of this series are photo books. Fewer pages than the other books. Nice story for reading with children.
The last two books of this series are photo books. Fewer pages than the other books. Nice story for reading with children.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews