Public-domain ebook
Language: en1,385 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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In: Children's Instructional Books·Children & Young Adult Reading·Nature/Gardening/Animals
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #2441.
The Burgess Animal Book for Children is a zoological guide presented as a narrative classroom, where the rabbit Peter and his feathered friend Jenny Wren become pupils of “Old Mother Nature.” The opening pages explain the author’s intent to teach young readers the major orders, families and divisions of American mammals without resorting to technical jargon, relying on the authority of noted naturalists and the vivid illustrations of Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Rather than cataloguing every subspecies, the work groups animals into recognizable categories, rabbits, hares, squirrels, chipmunks, and so on, using simple language and lively dialogue to introduce each group’s habits and relationships. The text proceeds chapter by chapter, each titled with a whimsical encounter that leads the reader through a parade of familiar and exotic creatures, from the humble meadow mouse to the mighty bison.
Written in the early twentieth‑century style of instructional natural history, the book blends clear, didactic prose with a gentle, story‑like voice. Its tone is earnest yet playful, reflecting the era’s confidence in scientific progress and the belief that nature education should begin in childhood. Readers who enjoy a blend of factual description, charming animal characters, and period‑appropriate illustrations will find it appealing, particularly those with an interest in wildlife, classic children’s literature, or the history of American natural‑science writing.
The opening · free to read
There has been no attempt to describe or classify sub-species. That is for the scientist and student with specific interests. The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with the larger groups--orders, families, and divisions of the latter, so that typical representatives may be recognized and their habits understood.
Instead of the word mammal, the word animal has been used throughout as having a better defined meaning to the average child. A conscientious effort to avoid technical terms and descriptions has been made that there may be nothing to confuse the young mind. Clarity and simplicity have been the objects kept constantly in view.
At the same time the utmost care to be accurate in the smallest details has been exercised. To this end the works of leading authorities on American mammals have been carefully consulted and compared. No statements which are not confirmed by two or more naturalists of recognized standing have been made.
In this research work the writings of Audubon and Bachman, Dr. E.W. Neson, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Dr. W.T. Hornaday, Ernest Thompson Seton and others, together with the bulletins of the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, have been of the greatest value. I herewith acknowledge my debt to these.
Whatever the text may lack in clearness of description will be amply compensated for by the wonderful drawings in color and black-an-white by Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the artist-naturalist, whose hearty cooperation has been a source of great help to me. These drawings were made especially for this book and add in no small degree to such value as it may possess.
If the reading of these pages shall lead even a few to an active interest in our wild animals, stimulating a desire to preserve and protect a priceless heritage from the past which a heedless present threatens through wanton and reckless waste to deny the future, the labor will have been well worth while.
Only through intimate acquaintance may understanding of the animals in their relations to each other and to man be attained. To serve as a medium for this purpose this book has been written. As such I offer it to the children of America, conscious of its shortcomings yet hopeful that it will prove of some value in acquainting them with their friends and mine--the animals of field and wood, of mountain and desert, in the truest sense the first citizens of America. THORNTON W. BURGESS
III MORE OF PETER'S LONG-LEGGED COUSINS The Swamp Hare, Arctic Hare, Prairie Hare, Antelope Jack and common Jack Rabbit.
IV CHATTERER AND HAPPY JACK JOIN The Squirrel family and order of Rodents.
V THE SQUIRRELS OF THE TREES The Red, Gray, Fox, Kaibab and Abert Squirrels.
VI STRIPED CHIPMUNK AND HIS COUSINS The Chipmunk, Spermophiles, and Flying Squirrel.
VII JOHNNY CHUCK JOINS THE CLASS The Woodchuck and his ways.
VIII WHISTLER AND YAP YAP The Whistling or Hoary Marmot and Prairie Dogs.
IX TWO QUEER LITTLE HAYMAKERS The Pika or Cony and the Mountain Beaver or Sewellel.
X PRICKLY PORKY AND GRUBBY GOPHER Introducing the Porcupine and Pocket Gopher.
XI A FELLOW WITH A THOUSAND SPEARS More about the Porcupine.
XII A LUMBERMAN AND ENGINEER The Beaver and his works.
XIII A WORKER AND A ROBBER The Muskrat and the Brown or Norway Rat.
XIV A TRADER AND A HANDSOME FELLOW The Cotton Rat, Wood or Pack Rat and the Kangaroo Rat.
XV TWO UNLIKE LITTLE COUSINS Whitefoot the Wood or Deer Mouse and Danny Meadow Mouse, also called Field Mouse.
XVI DANNY'S NORTHERN COUSINS, AND NIMBLEHEELS The Banded and Brown Lemmings and the Jumping Mouse.
XVII THREE LITTLE REDCOATS AND SOME OTHERS The Pine Mouse, Red-backed Mouse, Rufous Tree Mouse, Rock Mouse and Beach Mouse.
XVIII MICE WITH POCKETS, AND OTHERS The Silky and Spiny Pocket Mice, Grasshopper Mouse, Harvest Mouse and House Mouse.
XIX TEENY WEENY AND HIS COUSIN The Common or Long-tailed Shrew or Shrew Mouse, Short-tailed Shrew or Mole Shrew and Marsh or Water Shrew.
XX FOUR BUSY LITTLE MINERS The Common Mole, Brewer's or Hairy-tailed Mole, Oregon Mole and Star-nosed Mole.
XXI FLITTER THE BAT AND HIS FAMILY The Red Bat, Little Brown or Cave Bat, Big Brown or House Bat, Silvery Bat, Hoary Bat and Big-eared Bat.
XXII AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY The Common Skunk, Hog-nosed or Badger Skunk and Little Spotted Skunk.
XXIII DIGGER AND HIS COUSIN GLUTTON The Badger and Wolverine or Carcajou.
XXIV SHADOW AND HIS FAMILY The Common or Bonaparte Weasel or Ermine, New York Weasel, Long-tailed or Yellow-bellied Weasel, Least Weasel and Black-footed Ferret.
XXV TWO FAMOUS SWIMMERS Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter.
XXVI SPITE THE MARTEN AND PEKAN THE FISHER The Pine Marten or American Sable and the Fisher or Pennant Marten.
XXVII REDDY FOX JOINS THE SCHOOL The Red, Black and Silver Foxes, Gray Fox, Kit Fox Or Swift, Desert Fox, Arctic and Blue Foxes.
XXVIII OLD MAN COYOTE AND HOWLER THE WOLF The Prairie Wolf or Coyote and the Timber or Gray Wolf.
XXIX YOWLER AND HIS COUSIN TUFTY The Bay Lynx or Bob Cat and the Canada Lynx or Lucivee.
XXX SOME BIG AND LITTLE CAT COUSINS Puma the Panther, also called Cougar and Mountain Lion, The Jaguar, the Ocelot, and the Jaguarundi Cat or Eyra.
XXXI BOBBY COON ARRIVES The Raccoon and the Civet or Ring-tailed Cat, also Called Coon Cat and Bassaris.
XXXII BUSTER BEAR NEARLY BREAKS UP SCHOOL The Black Bear and his habits.
XXXIII BUSTER BEAR'S BIG COUSINS Silvertip, the Grizzly Bear, the Alaska or Great Brown Bear and the Polar Bear.
XXXIV UNC' BILLY AND OLD MRS. POSSUM The Virginia Opossum, which is the only American Marsupial.
XXXV LIGHTFOOT, BLACKTAIL AND FORKHORN The White-tailed or Virginia Deer, Black-tailed Deer And Mule Deer.
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