A Fine Winter Cap by Mary-Ann Stouck, Illus. by Meaghan Stouck, West Vancouver, Walhachin Press, $14.00 (suggested price)
Jaunty verse by a West Vancouver author outlines the fate of a hunter who wants to acquire a new winter cap made of beaver fur.
The cumulative tale is patterned similarly to the old British nursery rhyme, The House that Jack Built.
The text spells out in detail exactly how the beaver will be turned into a cap “using bait, trap and cleaver” (skinned, boiled, dried and cured) and a subsequent illustration of a dead beaver on the hunter’s head makes it clear that the fate intended for the beaver will not be a happy one.
The beaver, understandably, heads for his lodge and surprises a visiting skunk who reacts in true skunk-like fashion. The hunter gets his comeuppance when the beaver lands on his head while escaping the fumes and knocks him senseless.
Outsmarted, the hunter gives up his quest and departs the scene while the victorious beaver parties with his new friend, the skunk. All’s well that ends well as the hunter does get his new cap - a nice one knitted by his granny.
The final words of the story explain to the reader: “The moral of this Story is: Wear Wool, Not Fur!”
The pastel drawings are breezy and cheerful and the victorious animals are a happy bunch. I like the illustration on the back cover in which the beaver is clearly celebrating with a craft beer!
The publisher’s blurb suggests that the book is appropriate for kids aged 2-6
Fran Ashdown was the children’s librarian at the Capilano Branch of the NV District Library. She has a wool cap with a monkey face that her granddaughter covets. For more information check your local libraries.
