Little Beaver endures multiple scoldings when playing distracts him from assisting in the completion of the family dam. Luckily Bird, Otter, and Fish happily help him "Nibble nibble snap / scoop scoop pat" until he can (honestly, this time) declare "I'm done!" Odell's careful drawings with watercolor washes add drama and perspective to an otherwise repetitive and slight tale about pitching in when there's work to do.

Again and again, Little Beaver, eager to play with his friends, claims his dam is finished—but is it?Art and text combine to provide a plot familiar to a great many children. Each time Little Beaver adds a twig or two to the dam he is supposed to be building, a different friend comes along to lure him away: first Fish (a trout), then Bird (a great blue heron), then Otter. Each time, one of Little Beaver's parents slaps a tail to call back the errant kit, then reminds him that he needs to do some more work before he may play. There is a good deal of onomatopoeia and gentle rhyming to provide enjoyment to both a read-aloud audience and beginning readers; these sounds are set apart in a larger display type. Examples: "Nibble Nibble Snap" and "Scoop Scoop Pat" as Little Beaver works on the dam; Fish's "Flish Flish Swish"; and, of course, the "Slap Slap Slap" of Papa's and Mama's tails. Children will also learn the rudiments of dam-building as they empathize with Little Beaver's impatience. The mixed-media art combines a northern woodlands palette of blue and green watercolors for backgrounds; in the foreground are animals that are a pleasant combination of anthropomorphic facial expressions and elegantly rendered, realistic bodies. There is gentle humor throughout.A bit of natural science combines with a sweet tale of perseverance and camaraderie. (Picture book. 3-5)