Two Tales of Chatty Animals Mrs. Fox up in a Tree and Jesse and the Talkative Takin

The first of the two tales, 'Mrs. Fox up in a Tree', begins with a surprised human observer asking Mrs. Fox why she is up in a tree. The resulting exchange between these two characters evolves from the fox's clarifying response to the human's introductory question into an expanded revelation of peak elements within a 'snapshot' of a fox family's life.

The second tale, 'Jesse and the Talkative Takin', begins by introducing Jesse, a student who has a free day to spend as she wishes. She decides to visit one of her favorite places, the zoo. Once there, Jesse initially observes the animal residents and their surroundings with her normal interest and curiosity. That apparent normalcy is unexpectedly broken by a rather brave and assertive young takin. The takin wants to talk with Jesse and descends from its pasture into a dry moat in order to get closer to Jesse for more conversation. The resulting discussion grows from polite introductions into the takin's very optimistic outlook regarding reintroduction to the wild, and ultimately, into reinforcement of Jesse's zoo-centered career objectives.

Bob is a septuagenarian, retired career civil servant, military veteran, and a life-long naturalist and photographer.

After retiring from government service, Bob has dedicated his free time to guiding and teaching his grandchildren, and other children, how to observe, understand, and appreciate the science and the related wonders of plant and animal life that surrounds us.

His advocacy for nurturing discovery , awareness and sound conservation of subjects in nature extends beyond the participation of immediate family members. For example, he used his photographic and teaching skills to create a detailed, narrated slide-show program on backyard butterfly raising and butterfly life cycles. During a period spanning thirteen years, and before becoming handicapped by Parkinson's Disease, he presented his backyard butterfly slide-show program to third grade and fourth grade classes at elementary schools in his community. Randi Kenyon, one of the author's grandchildren and a creator of the animal illustrations in this book, is a previous recipient of a National Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Medal Award.