Beaver Resources
Books
Grades: Preschool - K
Summary: A kindergarten-level introduction to beavers, covering their growth process, behaviors, the dams they call home, and such defining features as their flat tails.
Review: This is a great series known for large photos and one sentence text. Important vocabulary words are highlighted. Very engaging for the young learners and a good resource for ELL students as well. I love that additional resources are linked at the end of the book, both web sites and more advanced books.
Grades: PreK- Grade 4 and up
Summary: Beavers are fascinating animals. They build their own homes and live in family groups. They keep busy with their sharp teeth, powerful tails, and big webbed feet. Their work helps to preserve wetlands. Gibbons explores where they live, what they eat, how they raise their young, and much more.
Review: This picture book is a good resource for beaver facts. Colorful, engaging and accessible for the young elementary student and beyond.
At Home with the Beaver - The Story of a Keystone Species by Dorthy Hinshaw Patent
Grades: K-5
Summary: Beavers are dubbed a keystone species for good reason. The dams they build create ponds and other wetlands that are habitat for everything from microscopic life to giant moose. Dorothy Hinshaw Patent’s inviting text introduces readers to the great variety of living things inhabiting beaver ponds, while exploring the pivotal role beavers play in making this diversity possible. Michael Runtz’s breathtaking photographs bring the beauty of these habitats to life, making readers feel as though they are right there beside him on the pond shore. Through AT HOME WITH THE BEAVER: THE STORY OF A KEYSTONE SPECIES, children will discover that by building a dam, beavers have not only created a home for themselves but have also provided a habitat for hundreds if not thousands of other life forms
Beavers The Superpower Field Guide by Rachel Poliquin and Nicholas Frith
Grades: 3-7
Summary: Meet Elmer, an ordinary beaver. He may not be as mighty as a lion or as dangerous as a shark. He may be squat and brown. But never underestimate a beaver. I can almost hear you saying, “But aren’t beavers just lumpy rodents with buck teeth and funny flat tails?” Yes, they are! And believe it or not, those buck teeth and funny flat tails are just a few of the things that make beavers extraordinary. Humorous and engaging, Beavers is the first book in the new highly illustrated nonfiction Superpower Field Guide series, inspiring readers to laugh, think, and view the world around them with new eyes. Glossary. Suggestions for further reading. Full-color illustrations were created using a mixture of black ink, pencil, and wax crayon, then colored digitally.
Review: This is my favorite beaver resource for children. There is so much factual information included in both text and illustrations. Each chapter focuses on one "Superpower" that beavers possess. There are quizzes included throughout the book to do a quick check for comprehension but in a fun way. It is a fun, entertaining and thoroughly engaging resource for elementary students! If you have to choose one book to purchase this is the one to pick!
Living Wild Beavers by Melissa Gish
Grades: 5-8
Summary: A scientific look at beavers, including their habitats, physical characteristics such as their gnawing teeth, behaviors, relationships with humans and abundance of the rodents in the world today.
Review: This is an outstanding series of science books for middle school. Beavers combines beautiful photographs with scientific facts. The outstanding feature of this book is that cultural context has been included. The important role of beavers in the colonization of North American and the special place beavers have in the folklore. Beavers special place in the lives of indigenous peoples is explored as well. Overall a fantastic resource for the keystone species of beavers for advanced elementary and middle school students.
Eager The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and why they Matter by Ben Goldfarb.
Grade: Advance Middle School, High School, Educators
Summary: Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”—including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens—recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist with our fellow travelers on this plane
Review: For educators, I recommend starting your exploration of the world of beavers with this fantastic book. Reading this book will give you background knowledge and allow you to regale your students with many fantastic "Beaver Facts". I also recommend this book for advanced middle school and high school students. This award winning book details the consequences that the removal of millions of beavers from North America has had on our landscape and the amazing results that come from reintroducing this keystone species back into the ecosystem. This book makes you want to go out and lobby for change in your backyard!
Video Resources
PBS Nature Documentary
TV-G Runtime: 54 min
Director: Jari Osborne ; Writers: Mark Fletcher, Jari Osborne; Star: Brian Unger
Summary: "From PBS - The fascinating story of beavers in North America - their history, their near extinction, and their current comeback, as a growing number of scientists, conservationists and grass-roots environmentalists have come to regard beavers as overlooked tools when it comes to reversing the disastrous effects of global warming and world-wide water shortages. Once valued for their fur or hunted as pests, these industrious rodents are seen in a new light through the eyes of this novel assembly of beaver enthusiasts and "employers" who reveal the ways in which the presence of beavers can transform and revive landscapes. Using their skills as natural builders and brilliant hydro-engineers, beavers are being recruited to accomplish everything from re-establishing water sources in bone-dry deserts to supporting whole communities of wildlife drawn to the revitalizing aquatic ecosystems their ponds provide."
Review: This is a fantastic documentary for students in Grade 3 and up. It does a great job of highlighting the role that beavers play in an ecosystem, as a keystone species. The various narratives provide a connection to real people who are working to save the beavers. Overall an entertaining and educational video to share with students. I highly recommend viewing this video as introduction to beavers as a specific keystone species after the introductory lessons on the concpet of keystone species in ecosystems.
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Walt Disney's True Life Adventure
TV-G Runtime: 32 min
Director: Jame Algar ; Writers: Lawrence Edward Watkin (screenplay), Ted Sears (screenplay) Star: Winston Hibler, Mogens Lind
Summary: "Get a glimpse of "nature's own engineer" hard at work. A young male beaver must defend his new family against hungry predators, mischievous river otters and the ever-impending threat of winter."
Review: This documentary won the Academy Award in 1951 for Best Short Subject, Two Reel and the 1952 BAFTA for Best Documentary. It is a fun 32 minute look at a life in Beaver Valley. The footage of beavers is incredible and their role as water conservation engineers is highlighted. It is really worth the time to share with students and great nostalgia viewing for us. It brought me back to my elementary school days, watching the science documentaries on the film projector. Overall this is a fun film who's content is still relevant today!