When Jimmy Skunk curls up to take a nap in an old barrel, the imp of mischief gets the better of Peter Rabbit. Tons of trouble plague the long-eared prankster after he decides it'd be great fun to see the barrel -- with Jimmy inside -- roll down from its resting point high on a hill.
Reddy Fox gets the blame for Jimmy's wild ride (as well as a dose of the skunk's perfume); Peter gets his comeuppance for playing nasty tricks; and before the day is out, Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum go egg-hunting and wind up in a pretty pickle in Farmer Brown's henhouse.
Children will delight in these warm, whimsical adventures that combine all the interest and excitement of a good story with gentle lessons about nature, wildlife and such virtues as courtesy, kindness, and preparedness.
Newly reset in large, easy-to-read type, the text is enhanced by six black-and-white illustrations by Thea Kliros, based on Harrison Cady's originals.
Author and conservationist Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965) wrote thousands of animal stories for children, starting with the 1910 publication of Old Mother West Wind. Burgess's tales convey his fascination with wildlife and his concern for nature, teaching gentle lessons about ecology and respect for the environment.
Target age: 8 to 14
Dover Publications
Pub Date: May 20, 1994
0.29" H x 8.24" L x 5.18" W
96 pages
paperback