George’s Antlers
Written and Illustrated by: Bruno St-Aubin
Scholastic Canada $7.99
Recommended for ages: 3-6

As George, the moose, quietly munches away at his lunch, he hears the loud CRACK of a forest fire. He runs as quick as a moose can to safety but in the rush of getting away, he loses track of his feathered friends. He finds himself totally lost in the forest with no friends in sight. One by one the birds find George and he offers them refuge in his antlers. They are either too tired to fly or have no place to perch. George is so happy to be reunited with his friends but all the while he thinks about his best friend, Ruby. She is so tiny and helpless. Did she survive the forest fire? Where could she be?

Eventually, Ruby lands on George’s nose to let him know she is okay. At this very moment, the weight of his friends causes George to collapse. The birds repay George’s kindness by building him a beautiful nest near the marsh. “What good friends I have!”, he murmured smiling. “Oh, this is wonderful!”

In addition to learning a valuable lesson about friendship in this simple story, children will be able to identify familiar birds of Canada.

Bruno St-Aubin has written many books, both in French and English, including Where’s My Hockey Sweater? and Too Many Books. The French version of this sweet Canadian story is Le Panache du Grand Georges.