Let beaver take you and your child around the world in his hot air balloon, seeing all the different ways in which animals around the world live! Perfect bedtime reading to spark off the imagination of a young child. Fantastic book, highly recommend.

Beaver goes off exploring, but then gets concerned that he won't be able to find his way home. Akita, the hot air balloon adventurer, helps Beaver find his way home, circumnavigating the globe and checking in on a variety of animal houses along the way.

Each stop is a full, two page spread, illustrated in a colorful, "Where's Waldo?" search-and-find style. There are an abundance of scenes to look at within each landscape and I loved taking the time to slowly peruse each scene, finding all of the small animals and illustrations of daily life. The map at the end highlights where in the world each "house" is located.

The prose itself, written in short, rhyming couplets, wasn't terribly captivating; however, it introduces each of the scenes, stating what animal lives there, and then lets the picture tell the rest of the story.

It's subtly educational, allowing kids to see the wide variety of dwellings and landscapes that animals live in, from tunnels and ice caves to honeycombs and nests. It will surely spark some interest in finding out more about some of the habitats that animals make for themselves.

Already on the cover there’s a lot of stuff going on, but. . . why do beavers need scuba gear?
An adventurous young beaver—dressed like a lumberjack, of course—is on a log, rowing along a giant city with skyscrapers. Quickly he becomes homesick, so Akita the Adventure Dog! (must have exclamation point) takes him around the world in his balloon searching for it. I hope Akita is doing it on purpose, because if he can’t tell there’s no way Beaver could possibly live in a honeycomb then he’s the dumbest superhero ever.
Again, there’s a lot going on in each artwork. My fave is when they’re in the Arctic and the seals are playing ring toss with a narwhal. On another page there’s a prairie dog playing the accordion—that’s just evil.
On the other hand, some of this background material, added to make things funny, isn’t very realistic. (Yes, this is about a beaver and a dog in a balloon going around the world, but still.) For example, Fox has three kids in his cave. . . and a liquor cabinet with the bottles on top, where anyone can get at them. And a pantry but no real kitchen. Maybe it’s more my attention to detail that’s at fault here. I supposed the author/artist doesn’t expect kids to catch all this. For them it will be fine and fun—don’t want anyone to think this sucks in any way—just felt like a little more thought could have been put into the details.
The couplets certainly rhyme, though forget about the meter. Don’t know how big this real-tree book will be, but the print is tiny. (This rhyming stuff is catching!)
At the end there’s a map of all the places they visited.

Welcome Home, Beaver by Magnus Weightman is a wonderful book about animal homes. When Beaver goes off on adventure, he gets lost and is not sure how to find his way back home. Along comes his friend, a dog named Akita. They head off in his hot air balloon trying to find Beaver's home. Around the world they travel and come across various animal homes such as polar bears, bees, various birds and more. The story itself is told in a question/answer style (i.e. "Beaver, is your house made of grass and does it hang in a tree? Akita, no, the weaverbird made this for his family, not me"). What makes this book are the illustrations. They are colourful homes showing both the outside and cross section. The tunnels, lairs, etc. are full of fun things to look at such as furniture, lights, rooms, family members and more. This is a fun book to read to children interested in animals or to use in a classroom studying habitats. There is so much detail that you could also use it for vocabulary development.

A wonderful story with beautiful illustrations about a beaver trying to find his way home. The illustrations are detailed, colorful, and charming. It is a simple but inspiring book for children, this can be used to introduce animals and their habitats.

Thank you Netgalley for this book.

This is a sweet story of Beaver who is trying to find his way back home. He meets several friends on his way who try to help him on his search. Detailed and thoughtful illustrations within guide the reader with Beaver on his adventerous way. Each picture displays a map-like characteristic in the dwellings, unique to the inhabitant. Finding Beaver's own home in this fashion makes for an interactive story.

I have to say I was first drawn in by the cover since I didn't know the author and after reading the description I had to read it at least once. I love the illustrations and I found him visiting various houses of other animals to be cute. Would recommend.

This a delightful children's book full of amazing illustrations and a nice story about a Beaver who gets lost while exploring the world, and ends up travelling around, visiting the various homes of other animals as he tries to find his way home. It's a simple story, with some nice rhymes without being anything flash, but it's the illustrations that really kick this up a level. They're gorgeous, full of interesting detail and a lovely level of fun.

Not a bad book. Young kids are going to enjoy Beavers adventure. Lots of fun illustrations and stuff to learn about who lives where. Nice book.

An adorable book for young children with beautiful illustrations. Very simple story that's probably meant to introduce animals and their habitats.

First of all the illustrations are beautiful! They will create lots of talking points with children as you or they are reading the story. I love that there aren't too many words on each page and it's kept short and sweet. The poetry is also lovely and without realising it the children who read this will learn a lot about animals' natural habitats. I would definitely buy this book for my son.

A breathtakingly beautiful story about the importance of finding your true home. A real winner.

Welcome Home, Beaver by Magnus Weightman is a delightful book about friendship and hospitality. This story is about Beaver wanting to go on an adventure only to find he is lost and cannot find his way home. Akita the adventure dog comes to the rescue in his hot air balloon and the two friends journey to find Beaver's home. Filled with colorful illustrations that include different animal and insect habitats this is definitely a nice read for children that love to explore.

Note: I received this ARC through Netgalley

Five stars for amazing,, whimsical, detailed illusrations--always something new to find in them! Beaver paddles away from home to the big city but Akita the Rescue Dog spots him. Together they travel the globe in Akita's hot air balloon observing how animals live underground and inside of homes they made. Seals and polar bears, bees, termites, prairie dogs, bower birds, field mice, foxes, and more--all living with modern conveniences, furniture, electronics, etc. Of course, Beaver eventually finds his dam and family. Lots of fun! Children (and grownups) will have hours of fun just looking at the oh-so-creative illustrations. A book to treasure!