Poliquin - Beavers

Dedicated to Humble Heroes everywhere. You know who you are. R.P

To my family and friends, for believing in me and my paws of power. N.J.F.

The author thanks the Canada Council for the Arts for its generous support.

Text copyright 2018 by Rachel Poliquin

Illustrations copyright 2018 by Nicholas John Frith

All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhbooks.com

Cover illustrations 2018 by Nicholas John Frith

Cover design by Whitney Leader-Picone

The illustrations in this book were produced using a mixture of black ink, pencil, and wax crayon on paper, in a technique known as preseparation. For printing purposes here, the artwork was colored digitally.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Names: Poliquin, Rachel, 1975 author. | Frith, Nicholas John, illustrator.

Title: Beavers / by Rachel Poliquin ; illustrated by Nicholas John Frith.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2018] | Series: The superpower field guide | Audience: Age 710. | Audience: Grade 4 to 6.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017001211 | ISBN 9780544949874

Subjects: LCSH: BeaversJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC QL737.R632 P66 2018 | DDC 599.37dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017001211

eISBN 978-1-328-53490-3
v1.1118

THIS IS A BEAVER.

Just an ordinary beaver.

But even ordinary beavers are extraordinary. In fact, even ordinary beavers are superheroes.

Now, I can almost hear you saying, But arent 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.

Impossible! you say.

I say, You dont know beavers.

But you will.

MEET ELMER, AN ORDINARY BEAVER. He may not be as majestic as a lion or as ferocious as a shark. He may be lumpy, squat, and brown. But never underestimate a humble hero like Elmer. His beaver superpowers include:

And thats not allwhat an ordinary beaver can do with his superpowered parts put together is Unthinkable! Unstoppable! Utterly Gobsmackable!

So sit back, relax, and allow me to explain the amazing powers of ELMER, WETLAND WARRIOR!

FIRST LETS MEET ELMERS FAMILY: rodents!

BEAVERS are rodents.

so are PORCUPINES...

DORMICE

RATS

HAMSTERS

MICE

CHINCHILLAS

CAPYBARAS

GOPHERS

CHIPMUNKS

SQUIRRELS

GERBILS

MUSKRATS

NOTE: Rodents not drawn to scale.

The word rodent means THE BEAST THAT GNAWS. And it is true. All rodents (except one) chew furiously at anything they can find. Beavers gnaw down trees. Squirrels break open nuts, and porcupines chew right through metal park signs that say Dont Feed the Porcupines.

Why do rodents chew so much? Good question. They dont have a choice. They have to keep chewing... OR THEYLL DIE.

You see, all rodents (except one) have two upper front teeth and two lower front teeth called incisors that continue to grow throughout the animals life. Imagine that: EVER-GROWING TEETH. And all rodents (except one) keep those teeth short and sharp by chewing. When rodents gnaw, their upper and lower incisors slice and grind against each other like a pair of scissors. The more a rodent chews, the more its teeth slice and grind, and the sharper they become.

But ever-growing teeth can become a horrible problem. If Elmer were to lose an upper incisor, his lower tooth could continue to grow in an upward curve until it pierced his skull. Poor Elmerlets hope he doesnt chip a tooth!

All rodents (except one) also have grinding molars at the back. The exception? Paucidentomys vermidax, or few-toothed worm-eating mouse, has two upper teeth and two lower teeth, but they arent ever-growing, so this mouse cant gnaw. It lives in Indonesia on a strict diet of earthworms.

Beaver incisors are three inches (7.6 centimeters) long and bright orange.

Now, I know bright orange teeth dont sound as impressive as x-ray vision or freezing breath, but never underestimate a beavers bite. Those big orange teeth are ELMERS FIRST SUPERPOWER.

BEAVERS CAN SNAP A TREE as thick as your arm in two or three bites. They can chew through a tree trunk as thick as your body in less than an hour. And in a week or so, even an ordinary beaver like Elmer can take down a tree as wide as your leg is long.