Marty Kelly

L.B. Taylor Amazon Review:
This is a spirited tale originally published in the mid-1970's about a packrat that moves into an old house. He comes into contact with many other creatures also living there. Some lessons learned are about give and take. Also, sharing and discovering how to get along with others.

A nest of wasps, a family of spiders, a squirrel, an owl, a snake, frogs, and coyotes are just some of the living things that compete for space amidst the boarded-up and abandoned home and the surrounding land. And just when everything finds its own niche along comes a human couple.

The husband tries to convince his wife that they should leave everything alone and fix up a cottage elsewhere on the property and make it their home. But she is determined to make things livable....for them. It is not long before they realize that, sometimes, you need to let nature take its own course.

Marty Kelly draws his experience from the Montana countryside. The wonderful pictures are in black and white but are very descriptive. The illustrator, Ronald Himler, did a superb job. My guess is that kids 9 and up could read the story alone comfortably. If you are a parent and/or teacher, this book would be terrific story to teach kids about nature.… (meer)