INNOCENT GROVE

by Geoffrey Wagner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1971

In this well-intentioned but barely fictionalized plug for conservation, a nameless Boy and a number of wild animals with human appellations -- Will the Wolf, Charlie the Chipmunk, Phil the Fox, and others -- wage a campaign to destroy all traps, cyanide guns, and other devices used by humans in their 'unasked interference' with the ""delicate and precious equilibrium of nature."" The narrative begins with Boy and his band springing their friend the cougar from an illegal and inhumane zoo and ends, after the sheriff has locked the surly zoo-keepers (who are also indiscriminate trappers) in their own cramped cages, with all the villagers throwing their guns, traps and DDT cans into a huge pit dug by Boy and his father. More dramatization of these incidents might have made a story; as it is, the book is constructed mainly of conversations designed to convey either telling facts (""Examination of the stomach content of cougars has shown that less than 5% contained any evidence of domestic stock,"" announces the cougar) or moral generalizations (Boy tells various animals that ""love is infinite,"" ""love is life"" and ""love is everywhere""). No merrie band in this woodland group; rather a vehicle for arguments better expressed in non-fiction.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: World

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION