From the inside flap of the book jacket: "Squirrels in the bird feeder, raccoons in the garbage, Canada geese on the lawn, rabbits in the garden, deer in the orchard—during forty years in the suburbs A.B.C. Whipple has coped with them all, even including a skunk that decided to winter in his cellar."
That makes it sound like it is going to be a really fun and amusing book, but no. It is more like a zoology text book, with the amazingly (and boringly) in depth descriptions of the habits and life cycles of these common creatures.
In the chapter about the cellar skunk, we get a lecture on "aposematic coloration", info on skunk diet, skunk mating habits & the chemical composition of skunk spray (key word: butylmercapton).
In the chapter on raccoons, we explore the origins of the washing behavior, their mating habits, their diet, a bit of their history in North America & rabies.
Similar topics are touched on in all the other chapters about all the other animals.
The author can't just tell an amusing tale. No, he has to educate the reader. Which is fine if you are in the mood to be educated. Not so much if you just want a light, amusing read.
No comments:
Post a Comment