RELEASED 28 NOVEMBER 2025
Building Beaver Dam
When heavy rain puts Buzz Meadows Farm at risk, only one beaver has a plan! Join Bertie the Beaver and his friends as they work together to build a dam strong enough to stop the flood and save the day. Building Beaver Dam is a heartwarming tale of teamwork, friendship and the magic of nature. Perfect for little readers who love animals and big adventures!
‘Building Beaver Dam’ is a brand-new tale all about the importance of friendship, trying to overcoming challenges and the magic of building something together.
ISBN: 978-1-0369-3459-0
Size: 156 X 234
Page Length: 48
Word Count: 714
In ‘Building Beaver Dam’ we return to Buzz Meadows, the family farm run by Bryce and Hazel. A place we once visited in the book ‘The Adventures of Mr Bumble‘ although we may notice things look a little different this time around. The buzzing air of spring has faded and autumn has arrived bursting with colour. The fields are brushed with deep reds, burnt oranges and soft yellows as the leaves begin to fall and dance in the crisp breeze. The air feels cooler, the days are shorter and something is brewing in the clouds above our heads.
With autumn’s beauty comes a challenge: a very big storm is heading towards the farm, bringing with it strong winds and heavy rain that could flood the farm. The water could damage the crops (the food for all the animals and children) along with putting any homes the animals have on the farm in danger. The owner Bryce has called out for help to save his farm and turns to an unlikely hero. A friendly beaver named Bertie. Beavers are known for their incredible building skills and he quickly gets to work on a plan to protect the farm, but he is running out of time and realises he can not do it alone.
Building Beaver Dam is a heartwarming story about friendship, teamwork and resilience. It reminds us that it’s okay to ask for help and together, we can overcome even the toughest challenges.
Order Building Beaver Dam
Building Beaver Dam
When heavy rain puts Buzz Meadows Farm at risk, only one beaver has a plan! Join Bertie the Beaver and his friends as they work together to build a dam strong enough to stop the flood and save the day. Building Beaver Dam is a heartwarming tale of teamwork, friendship and the magic of nature. Perfect for little readers who love animals and big adventures!
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Facts, Quotes and Forgotten Lines
Facts
- Because The Adventures of Mr Bumble took place in spring, Noel wanted the second book to feel completely different. Ricky was also excited to try different colours and techniques in his illustrations. Together they decided their favourite season autumn would be when this exciting new adventure will take place.
- Noel and Ricky wanted to create a book that was inspired by all the wildlife they got to see during their time living in Toronto, Canada (from 2018-2021).
- Noel got the very first idea for Building Beaver Dam one stormy morning in October 2023, when he woke up and heard the strong wind blowing and rain pouring down. This sparked his imagination and the story began!
- This was eight months before their first book, The Adventures of Mr Bumble, was even published which gave Noel and Ricky plenty of time to create the story.
- Plenty of time was almost 18 months! Noel would write and rewrite the story to make sure every rhyme fit perfectly and every sentence made sense. Once it was finished he would give the page to Ricky for him to create an illustration to match the message of the story.
- The longest and hardest part for Noel to write was the last two pages: almost four months was spent changing the ending to make sure Building Beaver Dam got the ending it deserved.
- Ricky, being the clever illustrator and prankster that he is, hid a secret smiley face somewhere in one of his illustrations on the book. Let us know if you ever find it!
- For Ricky, his favourite page to illustrate was the second last picture which shows the entire Beaver family. While the hardest picture to draw has all of the animals mentioned in the book (that’s 14 animals!)
- This book was different than the first one (Mr. Bumble) as it was self published by Noel and their first book released under the publishing name Noel Smith Stories.
Quotes
As rain started pouring from the dark grey skies,
The once calm blue river started to rise.
Now the farm is at risk from the rising tide,
It is time for the children to run and hide.
Every book has secret pages! Here you can discover story ideas, rewritten pages and bits that were cut and “shredded” before the book was finished. Even the parts left out helped shape the adventure you can read today.
Family trips on days like this include a walk along the stream
They stop to look at the lovely view and eat some cold ice cream
On the other side is a wooden fence
Backed by hefty bags of sand
A sturdy man stood looking tense
He threw them upon the waters edge
Stacking them higher than the hedge
Bertie the beaver works all day
To save the farm from the floods way
All of the animals come to lend a hand
Working together to save the land
The squirrels worked closely with Faye Fox
Gathering sticks, stones and giant rocks
He has called in a favour from one of his neighbours
Someone to help him protect all his acres
All of the animals rally together
To help protect from this bad weather
The man with the plan is cool and collected
He assured him the crops will not be affected
It’s Bertie the Beaver, a pleasure to meet you
He wears plaid shirts and waves his tail to greet you
The animals cheered “Hip hip hooray!
Bertie the beaver has saved the day!”
Building a dam was Bertie’s great plan
Everyone helped and the work began
A dam they’ll build to divert the flow
Keeping the farm safe and letting crops grow