Raccoon Retreat: Living Wild Side by Side, #2

By Christa Miller and Christian Barratt

Roxy, Rufus, and Renae are almost all grown up and ready to strike out on their own. But when their forest home is suddenly destroyed, the three young raccoons are forced to explore an unfamiliar environment far outside the bounds of what they're used to. Embarking on a new double mission -- find their missing Mama, and then find a new home -- they put all their survival skills to the test as they avoid predators, make new friends, and return to where the humans live.

 

The sequel to Raccoon Rescue, Raccoon Retreat continues the Living Wild Side by Side series with an animal's-eye perspective on deforestation, habitat destruction, and human development. Drawing on the real-world threats and opportunities that backyard species encounter, this illustrated chapter book inspires readers in Grades 2 and 3 to put themselves in the animals' pawprints. Additional curriculum enhancements and extension activities, as well as a dyslexia-friendly font, make this series a Common-Core-friendly, easy way for teachers or homeschoolers to integrate as part of literature, science, or social studies courses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christa Miller
• Release date: Apr 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781734636383

Book preview

LIVING WILD SIDE BY SIDE

Raccoon

Retreat

CHRISTA M. MILLER &

CHRISTIAN BARRATT

RACCOON RETREAT

First published in the U.S.A in 2020

by Christa M. Miller Communications LLC.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental or with permission.

Text Copyright © 2020 by Christa M. Miller

Images Copyright © 2020 by Christian Barratt

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchase.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Creator: Miller, Christa M., author.

Title: Raccoon Retreat / Christa M. Miller ;

Christian Barratt, Illustrator.

ISBN: 978-1-7346363-9-0 (Paperback)

978-1-7346363-8-3 (eBook)

Series: Miller, Christa M. Living wild side by side.

Target Audience: For primary school age.

Subjects: Raccoon--Juvenile fiction.

Wildlife conservation--Juvenile fiction.

Other Creators/Contributors:

Barratt, Christian, illustrator.

Interior Layouts by Rebecca Laffar-Smith (aulexic.com.au)

CONTENTS

Dedication

Author’s Note

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

What Happens Next?

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Curriculum Connections

Key Ideas And Details

Craft And Structure

Integration of Knowledge

Extension Activities

Acknowledgements

About The Author

About The Illustrator

To the wildlife

rehabilitators

of the world,

who work daily

to heal, nurture,

teach, and

restore balance.

I see you,

and I thank you.

Author’s Note

Dear Reader,

In the nearly three years since Raccoon Rescue was published, we’ve seen worldwide catastrophic habitat loss owing to human activity:

the destruction of delicate rainforests in Brazil,

wildfires and floods

sweeping Australia,

and development booms

in our own communities

(like where I live in

Upstate South Carolina).

Yet, we also see our own capacity for empathy documented throughout these places.

Whether people actively involve themselves in animal care and rescue, or simply contribute funds and prayers, we offset sometimes staggering losses with our desire to help.

Raccoon Retreat aims to offer its own small measure of hope by showing that even when we think all is lost, relying on others is how we make it through.

Thank you,

Christa M. Miller

Raccoon

Retreat

CHRISTA M. MILLER &

CHRISTIAN BARRATT

Chapter One

The air had turned cool and the nights had grown longer, so that by the time the raccoon family made their way down the tree where they lived, it was full dark and the last of the sun’s warmth had escaped the tree bark.

Even though he had lately spent more and more time outside the den, and foraged further away from his mother and sisters, Rufus didn’t want to leave. He poked his head out and sniffed the air. Mama, I’m tired, he chirred. "That buzzing sound kept me awake most