The Burgess Animal Book For Children: A Book Review

The majority of books that I read to the kids for school purposes come from a list on Ambleside Online – our primary homeschool curriculum source.

Last year we read Thornton W. Burgess’ Bird Book for Children so I was already familiar with this author’s style.

Burgess creates animal characters and a storyline for his creatures.

In The Burgess Animal Book for Children the woodland animals gather each morning to attend school with Old Mother Nature, who serves as the teacher for both the animals in her school and for the readers of the novel.

Each of the forty chapters covers several animals in the same family group and describes the habits and characteristics of those animals in a story format.

At first read, I thought the narrator’s tone came across as too formal – too “teach-y”.

But my young listeners did not think that at all – and as they were the target audience, I set aside those first misgivings.

And I am so glad that I did.

I used this book as a large part of our nature and science study curriculum this year.

Twice a week I would read one chapter of the book to the children.

While they listened, London, Mosely and Bergen would draw the animals in their personal nature notebooks.

(Our nature notebooks are just nice quality little sketch books – not the same as our Nature Notes project.)

One of the main animals attending the school with Mother Nature is Peter Rabbit – a curious, outspoken rabbit who has loads of questions for his teacher.

(Apparently, he also has a lame British accent.  Or at least – that’s what my kids will grow up remembering I guess.)

I am always surprised by how much detail the kids put in their drawings, just by listening to the descriptions given in the writing.

And I think by hearing about the animals in a story format they are able to retain so much more information than a list or a textbook would have offered.

After each reading I ask the kids to narrate what they remember about the animal.

Mosely drew the grizzly bear from the reading but asked to narrate about the polar bear we read about instead.

Although I recorded the words for her – I added nothing.

This is just what she remembered on her own.

(I love fact number four – “The polar bear can actually blend into the snow and it doesn’t mind attacking people.”)

Since London can write, she usually records the narration on her own.

The stories have certainly stuck in the kids’ minds too.

They frequently talk about the subtle differences between certain similar animals – such as the sheep and the goat or an antelope and a deer.

Bergen is often asking, “What family is that animal in?”

After almost every chapter they invent games of “polar bear” or “fox”.

My favorite is the game of “possum” where all the baby possums (Piper, Bergen, Mosely) try to ride on the momma possum’s (London) back as long as they can before they fall off and play dead.

And Piper has even taken to addressing me as “Old Mother Nature” whenever I begin to read a new story.

Based on the popularity of the first two Burgess books we have conquered, I am already scouting out Amazon for a few more selections.

I think he has written a series of additional books featuring some of the animals in this particular novel as well.

Bergen requested more stories from Unc’ Billy the possum, so I guess I’ll make that fella the next priority.