Old Beaver

by Udo Weigelt, Bernadette Watts (Illustrations), Sibylle Kazeroid (Translator)

Old Beaver is tired. The logs seem to grow heavier, and it takes him longer to fell a tree. So, when Old Beaver stops building dams, the animals decide to replace him with a new younger, stronger beaver. But the forest animals soon discover that wisdom and experience are every bit as important as youth and strength. Is it too late, or can they find Old Beaver and convince him to help?

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Udo Weigelt was born in 1960 in Hamburg, Germany. After secondary school he began his training in business but soon stopped to attend the College for Graphics and Design. In 1987 he finished his further education by studying German and history. Udo Weigelt has written many children’s books for North-South Books that have been translated into numerous languages. He also writes under the pseudonyms of E.T.W. Igel and Moritz Petz.

Reviews

[Becker Children · Rating 5 out of 5]

We absolutely love this book. First, the illustrations by Bernadette Watts are absolutely gorgeous. The cover illustration does not do justice to the beautiful river and forest spreads inside! Secondly, my kids love the story because they love stories about animals. I love the story because it teaches young people very subtly about the valuable role our elders play in our lives and society and teaches older people that they still have contributions to make after their working years!

[Kathryn Chipchase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shows the value of gaining wisdom from the older generation

[Maren Swallow · Rating 4 out of 5]

PICTURE BOOK:
I actually really loved this book. It is about how everyone belongs- old and young, we need each other and we all have something that we can contribute.

[Caycee Hatchette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal reaction: I enjoyed reading this book and it's a good one to read about friendship.

I would read this book aloud to first graders and incorporate a lesson about friendship and why it's important to have friends. By reading this book aloud, I think it would spark some thoughts about the subject and the students would probably be willing to share. There wasn't any figurative language in the book but there was a god mix of stronger to weaker words. Words such as: nuisance, racket, reproachfully, are used to challenge the students and help to build their language development. The illustrations in this book are also very detailed. The colors help to determine the setting: a lot of greens, blues, browns so you can tell that it takes place in a forest or outdoors. the illustrations also do a good job of playing off of the text and they go hand-in-hand to tell the story.

[Juliej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read about a little, old beaver who is so tired he can't build dams anymore and doesn't feel useful. He leaves home when the animals decide to bring in a new, young beaver - who turns out to be inexperienced in the dam building. Old Beaver is needed after all and comes back to instruct. It made me think of how much older people have to teach us, even though so many struggle when not feeling useful.