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.

Mean Margaret by Jon Agee (Illustrated by), Tor Seidler

This book wasn't anything like I thought it would be.  I was expecting a mean, rotten, totally nasty little girl.  I wasn't expecting woodchucks...

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, so watch for a copy at your local bookstore then.  It's a fun read!

Margaret is the baby of the family and the only way she gets any attention is to have a fit.  The other siblings don't like her because not only does she demand attention, she eats too much.  They have a perfect solution, they'll take her out in the woods and dump her in a ditch and then play innocent the next day.  To their surprise, it works!

Poor Margaret.  She doesn't know where she is, no one comes when she calls, and she's hot and tired and frustrated.  She cries herself to sleep.

In the meantime Fred, the woodchuck, has been looking for a wife and found one in Phoebe.  He lives in a hole in the ground; Phoebe has been living in a cave with her sister and her children.  She's happy to move in with Fred and they have a good life together.  At least they do until Phoebe finds Margaret...

This story is a real hoot.  They get Marget into the den in the ground and she fills almost the whole thing up.  She's terribly hungry and their first chore is to find her food.  Unfortunately, that turns into a never ending job.  And Margaret keeps growing.  Soon they have to move.  So they go to the cave that Phoebe used to live in and move in with her sister and her family.  That soon proves to be a problem because Margaret likes to throw the kids at the wall, like balls.

As they attempt to care for Margaret and teach her their language, they struggle on with their own lives and find another place to take refuge.  It takes all the animals in the woods to keep her fed and then the snake finds out her family is looking for her.  Poor Phoebe doesn't want to give her up.

The story ends happily enough, but it's not smooth sailing.  The good news is that Margaret learned some things in the animal world and her family has improved while she has been gone.  When life goes back to normal there is big sigh in both worlds...