Always informative and enlightening. A bit lengthy and overwhelming in information for young readers. I was able to download a companion classification outline to be able to break it down in small bites for the youngest readers. Informative in the listing of other names for the same animal which helped immensely. The pictures provided were of very good quality.

Fun way to learn about mammals; each of the animals get a kind of personality that helps you remember different attributes. 8yo really liked it.

Burgess creatively teaches children about North American Mammals through a story about a Forest School ran by Old Mother Nature, who’s first pupil, Peter Rabbit, warms the heart. We loved each chapter and how new pupils joined the learning adventure. A classic that deserves much more recognition than most of the dry, boring texts available today.

Great living style, just not a huge fan of assigning morals to animals.

3.5 - not my favorite Burgess book. Good info about the animals, but the "school" feels forced and there's not much of an actual storyline.

For the most part, this book was delightful and charming and informative. But I don’t think I would ever read it straight through again. I read it aloud with my kids, about 3-4 chapters a week, so it felt like a long time and quite repetitive in its format. I would enjoy reading it in pieces to supplement our biology studies when we come back to that in a few years.

Last year we read the bird version of this book and listened to Burgess's Old mother West Wind tales. Some of the chapters are tense and skilled with details we'll never remember about assorted North American animals. Listening to the Librivox recording in the car is our preferred method.

A fun book to teach about the animals of North America. I did think it spent too much time on rats and mice, but overall we really enjoyed it. We liked to watch a short show about the animal and then read the chapter.

Although I grew up with the Burgess Bird Book, I think this was the first time I've read the Burgess Animal Book. Even though I am familiar with most of the animals described, I found myself looking forward to reading a chapter or two before bed. If I had kids, I would probably read this to them.
Similar to the Bird Book, this book introduces Peter Rabbit to the mammals of North America. It feels a bit more contrived than the Bird Book, since a lot of the mammals it talks about don't live where Peter does. It uses the device of having Old Mother Nature convene a school to teach Peter and his friends. At times, the passages describing the different mammals get a bit old, and Mother Nature seems oddly judgmental on occasion. The book IS almost 100 years old, and actually was probably fairly enlightened at that time.

“I hope you have enjoyed learning as much as I have enjoyed teaching, and I hope that what you have learned will be of use to you as long as you live. The more knowledge you possess the better fitted for your part in the work of the Great World you will be. Don't forget that, and never miss a chance to learn.”

Amen, I agree.

My children love this book. Each chapter teaches about one or two North American animals in the context of Mother Nature teaching Jumper the Hare and Peter Rabbit a lesson each day. Sounds kind of silly maybe, and some might be turned off by the talking animals and language of years past...but my six and four year old daughters ask for the next chapter often. They learn a lot about animals, retain the information, and have fun listening to a story. It can be bought on the 4 for 3 sale on Amazon, and is well worth having. We like all of the other Burgess books we've read too...like Old Man Coyote etc. These are a fun way to learn about nature, gain an attention span, and teach respect for life without dumbing any of it down for little ones.

Delightful read! One of our favorite authors of Science living books. ☺️