"Octavia, why are you reading a book about raccoons?" I don't know, I just am. It's notable that after reading it, I had to check how to spell "raccoon" when writing the previous sentence, so that's not much of an argument for anything sinking in, but I enjoyed it anyway.

We don't have raccoons in New Zealand. I've never seen one in the flesh. Honestly, I just came across this book in a list of nature books and the library had it so I thought why not. And it's quite an enjoyable read, though a bit dense in places. It's sort of a monograph on raccoons, and while it's interspersed with anecdotes about raccoons the author has known, it's mostly things like their skeletal structure and life cycle and evolutionary relationships, that sort of thing. Solid and well supported science, written more for laypeople than academics, although a lot of academic work is referenced. The real strength of the piece, however, lies in the illustrations. They're black and white pen and ink drawings, but there are lots of them and they are all gorgeous. All credit to the illustrator, Janet Sharkey Thomas, she has done a fantastic job.