One Big Happy Family: Heartwarming Stories of Animals Caring for One Another
This book sells itself. It gathers 50 stories of animals of one species mothering (or, in several cases, fathering) babies from an entirely foreign species. The instinct to nurture young is almost universal, and, as these stories demonstrate, that instinct can sometimes trump the instinct to stay within one’s own kind. We see a mother cat who warms a nest of baby chicks with her own kittens, and the hen who adopts a nestful of ducklings—assisted by a goose. Even male cats get into the act when a ginger tomcat takes over the cuddling duties for a hand-reared lion cub. An owl mothers a gosling, and a cow takes over nursing duty for two lambs rejected by their mother. More than half of the stories feature dogs as the surrogate parent. Even wild animals enter the picture, as a lioness treats an antelope calf like a cub and a baboon cuddles an infant bush baby. Illustrated with irresistible color photos, this one is a charmer. --Nancy Bent