Who Stole the Animal Poop? (Buck Wilder's Adventures)
Buck Wilder is part Boy Scout, part Sherlock Holmes, and part Mr. Rogers. You'll find him deep in the forest, gathered with his animal friends on the trail of some kind of mystery. And at the end of the mystery, there's usually some sort of lesson about nature and the outdoors. Buck Wilder is the creation and sometimes the alter ego of author Tim Smith. In the last few months Tim Smith has released not one but three new Buck Wilder books for grade-schoolers. The series begins withWho Stole the Animal Poop?. Smith writes about the animal kingdom to teach moral lessons and foster a love for nature in his young readers. --Living on Earth radio programWho Stole the Animal Poop?is a fun book to read to a child. Kids get a kick out of it--just the title gets them giggling.There is an element of mystery to the story as Buck Wilder and his animal friends try to figure out who stole the animal poop, and WHY anyone would WANT to in the first place. I liked that there are signs and captions in many of the illustrations, which encourages children to look more closely at the pictures, and to read the messages in them. Later, children can search for hidden letters in those illustrations and put them together to decode a secret message. This paperback book is smaller and lighter than many books, which makes it easy for kids to handle and work with. To add a little more fun, this book features Flicker-Page Animation(tm). My son enjoyed flipping the pages to see the owl flying, but he was also aware of the owl's position as we turned each page, and he would keep me updated with comments like Oh, he's about to land; and He's almost on the branch. Fortunately for Buck Wilder fans, there are more books in this fun and educational series... --Bookseller Laura Smith, Perfect Pines BooksThe real fun of the book is not the mystery itself but the rest of the content. That includes a great outdoor page which helps children learn to identify animals not only by their tracks, but by their You Guessed It. Other lessons about nature come naturally out of the story. It's a fine book for kids to read before their next camping trip. --Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel