Fans of the award winning Magic Mountain Series (In the Path of Great Bear – 2001, Magic in the Mountains – 2002, Where Wolves are Wild – 2003) will welcome Carol McTavish's latest picture book, Never Bug A Bear, Alberta: McTavish Publishing, ISBN – 978-09811627-0-6.
The Characters in Never Bug a Bear
Never Bug A Bear is an overlarge children's picture book populated with characters that school-age children, teachers and parents will quickly come to love. Readers are led through the colourful pages of this environmentally important book by Humphrey, the little green bug with large blue eyes, a sparking personality and lots of valuable things to say:
Humphrey the bug,
Wants you to look,
In the animal homes,
You will find in this book.
Through the eyes and voice of Humphrey, children will learn the importance of protecting the wildlife habitat and how to respect and value the creatures who live in the North American wilderness. Humphrey introduces children to moose, elk, spiders, wolves, deer and many more animals including bear.
The Illustrations in Never Bug a Bear
Artist Linda Wentzloff illustrated all three of the books in The Magic Mountain Series, and in this latest story her love and respect for animals is evident in her realistic renditions of the wild creatures who live with the daily threat of human intrusion. Wentzloff uses the colours found in nature in her illustrations and readers will find themselves drawn to the pages of this book again and again. Each visit will reveal another rich detail. Each detail will lead to a better understanding of the animal habitat.
The Text in Never Bug a Bear
There is a short rhyme on each colourfully illustrated page that explains in playful language the very serious reasons why humans need to be aware of the damage done to animals when people don't respect and preserve their habitat:
If you feed them people food,
It won't be good at all.
Our food won't give them winter fat,
To hibernate in Fall.
Helping Wildlife at Home and Around the World
By purchasing Never Bug a Bear, readers are showing their concern for wild animals both in North America and around the world. This is because every time a copy of Never Bug a Bear is sold, a percentage of the sale is donated to the Yellowstone Yukon Region, (Y2Y). Y2Y is an organization dedicated to ensuring that the Yellowstone to Yukon region maintains safe and connected habitats for animals to travel and migrate within this large area.
Portions of the sales of Never Bug a Bear also go to the Conservation Fund of the Calgary Zoo. This fund develops solutions for environmental problems that threaten species and ecosystems the world over, as well as conducting experiments and research both in zoos and in the wild to ensure healthy habitats for threatened animals.
To find out where to purchase Never Bug a Bear, as well as to lean more about McTavish Publishing and the people behind this award winning small publishing house with a big conscience, visit their website: Writing for Kids.
Read a review of the Mountain Magic Series here.
Julie Burtinshaw - Julie is the Reading and Literature and Writing and Publishing Editor for Suite101.com. She is also the author of five books and is ...
