Glynnis Hood – författare

Colourful and lively illustrations draw you into a touching tale about how a community of all shapes and sizes comes together, just in time for Christmas.

Hello, moose, says the girl. Hello, beaver! Hello, squirrel! Every morning she leaves her family cabin in the woods to visit her forest and wetland friends. With winter coming, Christmas excitement is building and there is an extra big smile on her face as her “hellos” echo across the forest. Her furry friends are also preparing for winter and are very happy to listen as they chew the last of the fresh stems along the pond, while the bear searches for a cozy den for the winter. All is right with the world until an unexpected challenge for the girl and her family brings team forest (and wetland) together to make it the best Christmas ever! It is the girl’s love and respect for the animals that bring their love and respect back to her doorstep.

Colourful and lively illustrations draw you into a touching tale about how a community of all shapes and sizes comes together, just in time for Christmas.

Hello, moose, says the girl. Hello, beaver! Hello, squirrel! Every morning she leaves her family cabin in the woods to visit her forest and wetland friends. With winter coming, Christmas excitement is building and there is an extra big smile on her face as her “hellos” echo across the forest. Her furry friends are also preparing for winter and are very happy to listen as they chew the last of the fresh stems along the pond, while the bear searches for a cozy den for the winter. All is right with the world until an unexpected challenge for the girl and her family brings team forest (and wetland) together to make it the best Christmas ever! It is the girl’s love and respect for the animals that bring their love and respect back to her doorstep.

Beavers are the great comeback story--a keystone species that survived ice ages, major droughts, the fur trade, urbanization and near extinction. Their ability to create and maintain aquatic habitats has endeared them to conservationists, but puts the beavers at odds with urban and industrial expansion. These conflicts reflect a dichotomy within our national identity. We place environment and our concept of wilderness as a key touchstone for promotion and celebration, while devoting significant financial and personal resources to combating "the beaver problem." We need to rethink our approach to environmental conflict in general, and our approach to species-specific conflicts in particular. Our history often celebrates our integration of environment into our identity, but our actions often reveal an exploitation of environment and celebration of its subjugation. Why the conflict with the beaver? It is one of the few species that refuses to play by our rules and continues to modify environments to meet its own needs and the betterment of so many other species, while at the same time showing humans that complete dominion over nature is not necessarily achievable.