Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Wainscott Weasel by Tor Seidler, Fred Marcellino (Illustrated by)


He's fallen in love with a beautiful creature, but she's not of his kind...

Atheneum Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 7th.

I love reading books about animals (as long as they have happy endings).  My personal experiences with animals have been life changing.  Mom had a cat when I was born; he slept in the crib with me and NO ONE picked me up except Mom.  I've had cats and dogs.  I've also fed camp robbers (birds) pancakes, a ground squirrel on my knee unsalted peanuts, and had a sea gull park next to me on a point by the ocean while I was reading my book.  What I didn't expect was the story type this author chose.

Bagley is not a typical weasel.  While others like to dance, eat well, and get married, he's content to hang out near the pond and meditate.  He enjoys it even more because there is a beautiful fish there that he admires.  He even sometimes wishes he was a fish.  When push comes to shove, though, Bagley is glad he is what he is.

While a pretty weasel tries to get Bagley to come to the dance, his thoughts are with his lady love and the pond.  The pond is drying up, an osprey has moved in, and his girlfriend is in danger.  It makes him even more upset when he learns she's pregnant and will soon have babies.  Someone has to protect her from that bird!

His quest to save his fish is very dangerous, but Bagley is determined.  He's a smart weasel and he uses his knowledge to outwit the osprey.  He needs the help of his friends to accomplish it, but he does.  The story has a bittersweet ending, but Bagley knows he's done his best and he does get a kiss for his efforts.

The story moves along well, the interactions between the weasels is fun to see, and one small weasel makes a very good hero.

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