Beavers

By Rachel Poliquin and Nicholas John Frith

Beavers, the first book in the new middle-grade nonfiction Superhero Field Guide series by Rachel Poliquin and award-winning illustrator Nicholas John Frith, is a delightfully informative, laugh-out-loud full-color look at the most unsuspecting of animal heroes, perfect for readers who like their facts served with a large dose of humor. 

Meet Elmer, an ordinary beaver. He may not be as mighty as a lion or as dangerous as a shark. He may be squat and brown. But never underestimate a beaver.
     I can almost hear you saying, “But aren’t beavers just lumpy rodents with buck teeth and funny flat tails?”
    Yes, they are! And believe it or not, those buck teeth and funny flat tails are just a few of the things that make beavers extraordinary.
    Humorous and engaging, Beavers is the first book in the new highly illustrated nonfiction Superpower Field Guide series, inspiring readers to laugh, think, and view the world around them with new eyes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Dec 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781328534903

Rachel Poliquin

Rachel Poliquin is a writer engaged in all things orderly and disorderly in the natural world. With a cross-disciplinary background in visual arts, cultural history and natural history, she holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of British Columbia and a Post-Doctoral Degree in History from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Poliquin is the author of the Superpower Field Guide series, and has also written for Science Friday, The Believer Magazine, and The New York Times. www.rachelpoliquin.com Twitter: @ravishingbeasts Instagram: @rachelpoliquin  

Book preview

Dedicated to Humble Heroes everywhere. You know who you are. —R.P

To my family and friends, for believing in me and my paws of power. —N.J.F.

The author thanks the Canada Council for the Arts for its generous support.

Text copyright © 2018 by Rachel Poliquin

Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Nicholas John Frith

All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [e-mail] or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhbooks.com

Cover illustrations © 2018 by Nicholas John Frith

Cover design by Whitney Leader-Picone

The illustrations in this book were produced using a mixture of black ink, pencil, and wax crayon on paper, in a technique known as preseparation. The artwork was colored digitally.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Names: Poliquin, Rachel, 1975– author. | Frith, Nicholas John, illustrator.

Title: Beavers / by Rachel Poliquin ; illustrated by Nicholas John Frith.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2018] | Series: The superpower field guide | Audience: Age 7–10. | Audience: Grade 4 to 6.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017001211

Subjects: LCSH: Beavers—Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC QL737.R632 P66 2018 | DDC 599.37—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017001211

ISBN: 978-0-544-94987-4 hardcover

ISBN: 978-0-358-27257-1 paperback

eISBN 978-1-328-53490-3

v2.0620

THIS IS A BEAVER.

Just an ordinary beaver.

But even ordinary beavers are extraordinary. In fact, even ordinary beavers are superheroes.

Now, I can almost hear you saying, But aren’t beavers just lumpy rodents with buck teeth and funny flat tails?

Yes, they are! And believe it or not, those buck teeth and funny flat tails are just a few of the things that make beavers extraordinary.

Impossible! you say.

I say, You don’t know beavers.

But you will.

Meet Elmer

MEET ELMER, AN ORDINARY BEAVER. He may not be as majestic as a lion or as ferocious as a shark. He may be lumpy, squat, and brown. But never underestimate a humble hero like Elmer. His beaver superpowers include:

Chainsaw teeth, unstoppable fur, ever-toiling tail, the incredible scuba head, hydropowered building brilliance, paws of power, subaquatic winter siege survival skills, turbocharged superstink, indubitable deluge domination (That means Elmer is King of the Floods!), and unbeatable bogmaker.

And that’s not all—what an ordinary beaver can do with his superpowered parts put together is Unthinkable! Unstoppable! Utterly Gobsmackable!

So sit back, relax, and allow me to explain the amazing powers of ELMER, WETLAND WARRIOR!

Know Your Rodents

FIRST LET’S MEET ELMER’S FAMILY: rodents!

BEAVERS are rodents.

so are PORCUPINES . . .

DORMICE

RATS

HAMSTERS

MICE

CHINCHILLAS

CAPYBARAS

GOPHERS

CHIPMUNKS

SQUIRRELS

GERBILS

Reviews for Beavers

[bookbrig-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is SO GREAT. The art is fantastic, I learned all sorts of Beavery Facts™ and it's very funny. I will absolutely pick up more in this series, and if you have the slightest interest in animal facts you should definitely give this a try.