Ewan Clarkson (1929–2010)

Plot is generally how humans misunderstand and harm wildlife, but if we only knew them we would appreciate how each is important in sustaining the environment. Story follows a badger family: The father's death by vehicle in first chapter, birth and raising of a cub, Borun, the mother's death in a snare--the theme of badgers vs farmers is prominent. Borun leaves his birthplace when a fox moves in, has incidents with humans, finds a mate, and eventually they both return to his birthplace. That show more is threatened by highway development, but a geologist finds the ground is too unstable for a roadbed.
I'm finding I like story books about nature, even tho I "shouldn't" enjoy anthropomorphizing animals so much.
I'm not sure what age level this novel is intended for. Usually tales where the animals are the main characters, with names, are juvenile, and there is a 12 year old boy making a brief appearance. But there are also adults more prominent than that boy, and we are privy to more of their lives than I would expect in a juvenile novel. I enjoyed reading it. I appreciated how Clarkson was able to intertwine predator/prey relationships, the importance of the different roles or niches each organism fills with a simple tale of the daily routine of a few badgers. He even makes a bit of geology interesting and relevant.
This would be a good book for my grandson, who loves learning about animals, except that it is set in England and may lead him to expect American badgers to act the same even tho it is mentioned that the European badgers have a more "catholic" diet (one of the assorted big words that makes me think this was written for adults). Still...to read of voles as a "prepackaged survival ration" turning indigestible plant cellulose into a plentiful food source is quite delightful. show less

A nice easy read, just over 150 pages. The Author wanted to see wolves in the wild and the book is the story of his adventure. But it's more than that, it's also the story of an ecosystem and it's history. I enjoyed it.