Karel Hayes – illustratör

In this fun-filled and informative book, we take a winter walk with a rambunctious golden retriever Willy. Of course he leaves his paw prints in the snow. But there are other tracks, too, and none of them matches his. One by one, we find out what animals they belong to: a cat, a gull, a raccoon, a snowshoe hare, a bear, a moose, and-uh oh!-a skunk!

This follow-up to the successful The Winter Visitors, traces the interactions between a family of bears and a human family during their summer stay at a lake cottage. Told primarily through illustration, with only a few dozen words in the book, children and parents (and grandparents) alike will delight in following the antics of the bumbling bears as they enjoy the comforts of cottage life, but also try to avoid detection by their human hosts.

Little Loon traces the birth and first summer of a loon chick on a New England lake, ending with the loon’s migration for the winter. Readers follow along as the baby loon grows and discovers the world around her. Along the way, they’ll learn that loons are so perfectly adapted to life in the water that it’s very difficult for them to walk on land. They only come out of the water to lay eggs, so their nests are built are very close to shore and are very susceptible to flooding in heavy rains. Readers will also discover that the biggest threats to loons come from people—boats, pollution, and fishing tackle. Lavishly illustrated in full color, the book closes with a page of pertinent loon facts and ways for children to help protect this beloved waterfowl.