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Raccoon Rescue
Roxy, Rufus, and Renae are three young raccoons who are slowly learning how to live in the world beyond their den. But when humans come to their creek, the world suddenly expands far beyond what they thought was possible -- or what their Mama was prepared to teach them.
The first in the Living Wild Side by Side series, Raccoon Rescue, an illustrated chapter book, shows how human misperceptions of wildlife (and, perhaps, vice versa) can lead to unintended and unfortunate consequences. Three little raccoons and their mother are fascinated and horrified by how a human family responds to losing, then finding one of its children along the banks of their creek. The humans are likewise fascinated and horrified when they realize their habits have made their home a critical, if risky, source of food. These misperceptions come to a head when the humans encounter the "nuisance" wildlife on their property. After one of the human children takes one of the kits home, the young raccoons mount a dangerous rescue mission to get their little sister back.
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer with the Midwest Book Review, calls Raccoon Rescue "a satisfyingly different perspective than kids may be used to... both hilarious and thought-provoking... the perfect next step for nature-loving readers [as a] gentle, fun tale of animals learning to get along."
Appropriate for children ages 7 to 9 and dyslexia-friendly, Raccoon Rescue comes with a set of curriculum enhancements, including discussion questions and a glossary quiz, and extension activities that teachers or homeschoolers can implement as part of their literature, science, and/or social studies curricula. The activities adhere to US Common Core standards for Grades 2 and 3.
The first in the Living Wild Side by Side series, Raccoon Rescue, an illustrated chapter book, shows how human misperceptions of wildlife (and, perhaps, vice versa) can lead to unintended and unfortunate consequences. Three little raccoons and their mother are fascinated and horrified by how a human family responds to losing, then finding one of its children along the banks of their creek. The humans are likewise fascinated and horrified when they realize their habits have made their home a critical, if risky, source of food. These misperceptions come to a head when the humans encounter the "nuisance" wildlife on their property. After one of the human children takes one of the kits home, the young raccoons mount a dangerous rescue mission to get their little sister back.
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer with the Midwest Book Review, calls Raccoon Rescue "a satisfyingly different perspective than kids may be used to... both hilarious and thought-provoking... the perfect next step for nature-loving readers [as a] gentle, fun tale of animals learning to get along."
Appropriate for children ages 7 to 9 and dyslexia-friendly, Raccoon Rescue comes with a set of curriculum enhancements, including discussion questions and a glossary quiz, and extension activities that teachers or homeschoolers can implement as part of their literature, science, and/or social studies curricula. The activities adhere to US Common Core standards for Grades 2 and 3.
116 pages, Paperback
Published September 30, 2017
2 people want to read
About the author
Christa Miller
20 books12 followersToo goody-two-shoes for the rebels and too rebellious for the good girls and boys, Christa Miller writes fiction which, like herself, doesn't quite fit in. A professional writer for 15+ years, Christa has written in a variety of genres ranging from crime fiction to horror to children’s, but her favorite stories to write -- and read -- are those which blend genres. She has an affinity for the dark, psychological, and somewhat bizarre, but doesn’t let that stop her from snuggling baby animals as a volunteer at a local wildlife rescue, adventuring with her two sons in rivers, swamps and salt marshes, or relaxing with a good book and a cold beverage in her hammock. Christa is based in Greenville, SC.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 30, 2023
RACCOON RESCUE is an engaging, fast-paced junior novel. Told from the perspective a little raccoon family—three kits and their protective Mama—this is the story of what happens when a scarcity of their usual food forces the animals to venture for the first time out of their forest home and into a human community. The human world offers plenty of snacks, but just as many dangers.
RESCUE offers humorous and cleverly-written passages, such as when the raccoon family spies a young human wandering lost in the forest, and decide that since she’s out of her usual habitat, she must be rabid! The author gently nudges readers, both child and adult, into challenging the assumptions they make about wildlife without knowing the full story. There’s also a strong message against taking baby wild animals from the wild and attempting to make them into pets.
The passages in which the raccoons encounter human dwellings rang especially true. When the hungry raccoons overturn a trash can, a man stomps outside and announces he’s going to get his gun, to the protestations of his family. (No actual firearms or gunfire ever materialize in the story.) In rural and suburban America, often the only “resolution” to the most minor wildlife conflicts (including just seeing a wild animal) involves a shotgun. It is my hope that as today’s young people learn more about wildlife behavior and humane resolutions, they will make better choices when they’re in control of things (and will perhaps positively influence their parents, too!)
This series is written with a wide audience in mind. The book concludes with curriculum ideas and reader questions that tie in with a variety of school subjects. It’s also printed in larger typeface that is more dyslexia-friendly, which is something we see with preciously few books. This is book is a wonderful, mainstream-appeal resource for classroom and homeschool use, as well as presence in public and school libraries. Don’t miss it!
RESCUE offers humorous and cleverly-written passages, such as when the raccoon family spies a young human wandering lost in the forest, and decide that since she’s out of her usual habitat, she must be rabid! The author gently nudges readers, both child and adult, into challenging the assumptions they make about wildlife without knowing the full story. There’s also a strong message against taking baby wild animals from the wild and attempting to make them into pets.
The passages in which the raccoons encounter human dwellings rang especially true. When the hungry raccoons overturn a trash can, a man stomps outside and announces he’s going to get his gun, to the protestations of his family. (No actual firearms or gunfire ever materialize in the story.) In rural and suburban America, often the only “resolution” to the most minor wildlife conflicts (including just seeing a wild animal) involves a shotgun. It is my hope that as today’s young people learn more about wildlife behavior and humane resolutions, they will make better choices when they’re in control of things (and will perhaps positively influence their parents, too!)
This series is written with a wide audience in mind. The book concludes with curriculum ideas and reader questions that tie in with a variety of school subjects. It’s also printed in larger typeface that is more dyslexia-friendly, which is something we see with preciously few books. This is book is a wonderful, mainstream-appeal resource for classroom and homeschool use, as well as presence in public and school libraries. Don’t miss it!
July 2, 2018
Raccoons are Amazing Critters
We get an amazing peek into the lives of a momma raccoon and her babies, and see their interactions with humans from the animal perspective. The three raccoon kits, Renae, Roxy, and Rufus, get themselves into trouble, don’t listen to their mother, and—in other words—reflect the lives of human children.
My favorite part was when both the raccoons and the humans were afraid the other was rabid!
If interested in the book for classroom use, there are a lot of interactive exercises at the end, too, and the author gives you a lot to think about as far as keeping your little corner of the world ecologically sound and safe for both humans and animals to co-exist.
We get an amazing peek into the lives of a momma raccoon and her babies, and see their interactions with humans from the animal perspective. The three raccoon kits, Renae, Roxy, and Rufus, get themselves into trouble, don’t listen to their mother, and—in other words—reflect the lives of human children.
My favorite part was when both the raccoons and the humans were afraid the other was rabid!
If interested in the book for classroom use, there are a lot of interactive exercises at the end, too, and the author gives you a lot to think about as far as keeping your little corner of the world ecologically sound and safe for both humans and animals to co-exist.
December 30, 2017
This 5-chapter, beautifully illustrated (by Christian Barratt) story follows a raccoon family as they negotiate life next to humans, something its young readers might already have some human perspective on. Miller's experience as a volunteer wildlife rescuer shows in her apt characterizations of the raccoon family's behaviors and predilections, helping dispel our common misperceptions about wildlife that often cause well-meaning humans to do more harm than good.
In the back, Miller has provided questions and activities keyed to ELA core standards, which makes this a great addition to 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms.
I encourage parents to purchase this book for their children's classrooms and/or for their own bookshelves.
In the back, Miller has provided questions and activities keyed to ELA core standards, which makes this a great addition to 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms.
I encourage parents to purchase this book for their children's classrooms and/or for their own bookshelves.
Read
November 20, 2017Author Christa M. Miller could have subtitled Raccoon Rescue, The Kits and the Kids. Those four words pretty much summarizes this illustrated book that children in grades 2-3 will enjoy.
Review
Roxy, Rufus, and Renae are three young raccoons who are learning about life outside their comfortable den. As they venture out to gather food they encounter humans--as well as the trash they leave behind. Children will enjoy the interaction between the kits that sounds very much like normal give and take in a family.
Here is an interchange when Roxy gets mad at her brother:
"Don't call me fox-bait!" She leaped at him.
"Mama!" Rufus screeched and got away barely in time. "Roxy bared her teeth at me!"
"Roxy, don't pick fights with your brother," Mama said. "He was only trying to help you. And Rufus, don't call your sister names. That isn't necessary." (p.13)
Illustrated by Christian Barratt
When the kits see a child who seems scared their mother says,
"When you see a human acting normal, the best thing to do is leave it alone."
The youngest raccoon responds, "Can we adopt it?" asked Renae. "Raise it like a raccoon?" (p. 18)
As the raccoons cross paths with Helena, Hope, and their parents, there is misunderstanding conflict, and then ultimately, a new respect on both sides. The final chapter includes clever dialogue which shows the reader how both the animals and the children feel and think.
Author Statement
Here is Christa's reason for writing Raccoon Rescue.
Raccoon Rescue was the result of spending hours at Izzie's Pond, a local wildlife rescue and sanctuary, volunteering to help care for recovering and orphaned animals -- including raccoons. As I watched young raccoons grow from small kits to juveniles and at last to releasable adults, I grew from simply thinking they were cute, to deeply respecting their intelligence, sociability, and instincts.
Raccoons are among the most adaptable species, but also among the least understood. In the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Rocket Raccoon is deeply offended by people calling him "vermin" or other epithets that reduce the true measure of his loyalty and quick wits. Seeing people disgusted by "disease-carrying" animals -- at the same time that professional rehabilitators treat them for distemper, worms, and even (via vaccination) rabies -- drove me to write Raccoon Rescue from the point of view of animals who are as uncertain about humans as we can be about them, and hopefully to make us think about how we see them.
Raccoon Rescue is about the heart of those misunderstandings, and the small steps we can all take to correct them towards humane, peaceful coexistence with our wild neighbors.
Curriculum Connections
The illustrations sprinkled through Raccoon Rescue make this book very accessible to young readers. Read more about the illustrator, Christian Barratt, on Christa's blog. In addition, the book uses Dyslexic font to make it more accessible to readers with learning disabilities.
One of the neat extras of this well-written book are the 29 pages of Curriculum Connections at the end. I'm giving my copy to one of my granddaughters to read and give to her teacher. If you have a child or grandchild in second or third grade, consider how this might be a better teacher gift this year than another coffee mug!
Review
Roxy, Rufus, and Renae are three young raccoons who are learning about life outside their comfortable den. As they venture out to gather food they encounter humans--as well as the trash they leave behind. Children will enjoy the interaction between the kits that sounds very much like normal give and take in a family.
Here is an interchange when Roxy gets mad at her brother:
"Don't call me fox-bait!" She leaped at him.
"Mama!" Rufus screeched and got away barely in time. "Roxy bared her teeth at me!"
"Roxy, don't pick fights with your brother," Mama said. "He was only trying to help you. And Rufus, don't call your sister names. That isn't necessary." (p.13)
Illustrated by Christian Barratt
When the kits see a child who seems scared their mother says,
"When you see a human acting normal, the best thing to do is leave it alone."
The youngest raccoon responds, "Can we adopt it?" asked Renae. "Raise it like a raccoon?" (p. 18)
As the raccoons cross paths with Helena, Hope, and their parents, there is misunderstanding conflict, and then ultimately, a new respect on both sides. The final chapter includes clever dialogue which shows the reader how both the animals and the children feel and think.
Author Statement
Here is Christa's reason for writing Raccoon Rescue.
Raccoon Rescue was the result of spending hours at Izzie's Pond, a local wildlife rescue and sanctuary, volunteering to help care for recovering and orphaned animals -- including raccoons. As I watched young raccoons grow from small kits to juveniles and at last to releasable adults, I grew from simply thinking they were cute, to deeply respecting their intelligence, sociability, and instincts.
Raccoons are among the most adaptable species, but also among the least understood. In the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Rocket Raccoon is deeply offended by people calling him "vermin" or other epithets that reduce the true measure of his loyalty and quick wits. Seeing people disgusted by "disease-carrying" animals -- at the same time that professional rehabilitators treat them for distemper, worms, and even (via vaccination) rabies -- drove me to write Raccoon Rescue from the point of view of animals who are as uncertain about humans as we can be about them, and hopefully to make us think about how we see them.
Raccoon Rescue is about the heart of those misunderstandings, and the small steps we can all take to correct them towards humane, peaceful coexistence with our wild neighbors.
Curriculum Connections
The illustrations sprinkled through Raccoon Rescue make this book very accessible to young readers. Read more about the illustrator, Christian Barratt, on Christa's blog. In addition, the book uses Dyslexic font to make it more accessible to readers with learning disabilities.
One of the neat extras of this well-written book are the 29 pages of Curriculum Connections at the end. I'm giving my copy to one of my granddaughters to read and give to her teacher. If you have a child or grandchild in second or third grade, consider how this might be a better teacher gift this year than another coffee mug!
July 9, 2018
s.A charming, nicely illustrated book for young people who love animals.
I used to teach middle school, so I developed an eye for high interest, easy-to-read books for reluctant readers. This is one.
This book could be used in lots of ways in a school: read to a class of young kids, part of a science curriculum for elementary kids ( though the teacher would have to teach the difference between fact and literary license), or part of a book report library for older kids with low reading skills and an interest in animals. The book comes with lots of materials which could be used in lesson plans.
Of course, this would also be a wonderful book for family reading or as a gift for a chid who loves animals.
I used to teach middle school, so I developed an eye for high interest, easy-to-read books for reluctant readers. This is one.
This book could be used in lots of ways in a school: read to a class of young kids, part of a science curriculum for elementary kids ( though the teacher would have to teach the difference between fact and literary license), or part of a book report library for older kids with low reading skills and an interest in animals. The book comes with lots of materials which could be used in lesson plans.
Of course, this would also be a wonderful book for family reading or as a gift for a chid who loves animals.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews