Official Review: Bella the Doe who Doesn’t know She...

[ciecheesemeister]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bella the Doe who Doesn’t know She is a Deer" by Betsy wessinger.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Bella The Doe Who Doesn’t Know That She’s a Deer is a children’s book by Betsy Wessinger. The book tells the story of the author’s discovery of a newborn fawn alongside the road near her home. The fawn had been struck by a car but was alive. It still had its umbilical cord attached. Betsy picked up the tiny fawn and put it into her car to take it home with her. She and her daughter, Kenzie, nursed the fawn back to health. They named her Bella.

Betsy attempted to go through the proper channels to have wildlife services take over Bella’s care and eventually put the deer back into the wild, but they would have euthanized Bella as there were already too many deer in the area. Land development had driven away many of the natural predators. It was up to Betsy and Kenzie to raise and care for Bella themselves.

I really enjoyed this book. Betsy and Kenzie took on a task that not many people would be willing or able to in nursing Bella back to health and raising and caring for her. Betsy had to obtain a special license to keep Bella, who will never be able to live in the wild. Her kindness and self-sacrifice are unusual and commendable qualities.

This book is suitable for children of all ages. Readers at the middle-grade level could probably read it on their own. The author discusses important topics such as the fact that land development displaces animals from their habitat, which results in an imbalance between predators and prey.

The author also makes it clear that her situation with Bella is an unusual one. Wild animals normally should not be kept as pets. They require special care and removing an animal from the wild when it is a baby may result in it never being able to return to the wild, which is what happened with Bella. However, Betsy was able to make the best of an unusual situation, even allowing local schools to bring pupils to her house on field trips to learn more about Bella.

There was nothing that I disliked about the book, although the formatting needs a bit of work and there were a few minor errors in the manuscript. In its current form, I rate the book three out of four stars. With a bit of adjustment, it will easily earn four out of four stars.

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Bella the Doe who Doesn’t know She is a Deer
View: on Bookshelves

[Ann Ogochukwu]

It's the title of the book and the author's kindness for me. This book has got me thinking about the effects of development on wildlife... I think this is a lovely book.
Thank you for this beautiful review.

[Naomi Kalia]

I am not a big fan of the tittle but, the book has a beautiful and heart warming meaning and children of all ages will learn a lot from it. I love how its suitable for any age group.

[PeterRabitt20]

This book will be loved by animal-lovers and wildlife activists. I wonder if it showed the fawn with its umbilical cord still attached. I'm sure that it will make a great talking point for many young readers. Thanks for your wonderful review.