The Misadventures of Maria The Hutia

The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia is a delightful story about the travels of a wayward Bahamian hutia. Hutias are furry brown rodents that are native to the Bahamas, but they have almost disappeared from the islands due to coastal development and predation by animals that were introduced from other locales. Maria is swept away from her remote island home during a storm. She is rescued by a kindly fish who takes her to Nassau. Maria persuades other animals to escape from a zoo and assist her with the quest to return to her home. These creatures, too, have seen their habitats encroached upon by humans. They seek a quiet refuge where they may lead their lives in solitude, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist centers in the islands. The book targets a middle school audience and is imaginatively illustrated with black-and-white images. The underlying message speaks to the conflict between the needs of animals in the natural environment and peoples' desires for recreational development in exotic locales. Appended to the end of the book is an encapsulated description of each animal that appears as a character.

Author: Ruth Schowalter,Ron Shaklee
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 07/27/2012
Pages: 112
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.23d
ISBN: 9781477674000

About the Author
RON SHAKLEE is a geography professor at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. He has been visiting San Salvador Island with students since 1984. Ron has published In Columbus' Footsteps: The Geography of San Salvador Island and San Salvador Weather and Climate. He has written numerous articles about San Salvador and the Bahamas that have appeared in the Bahamas Journal of Science and the Journal of the Bahamas Historical Society. In addition to his academic pursuits, Ron writes and records his own music. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas. He is also a veteran of military service and served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. RUTH SCHOWALTER is a visionary folk artist, English teacher, and wife of a scientist. She exhibits her work in the Atlanta area and on her meditative blog, Coffee with Hallelujah, which explores the creative process and the natural world. Her work has been published in paleontological publications in Spain and Australia and reflects her broad global experience of teaching English to internationals at Georgia Tech for 18 years and doing field work with her husband, Anthony Martin, in the Bahamas, Australia, and on the Georgia coast. She attributes her growth as an artist to the endless artistic support of Jacq Marie Jack and to Lesly Fredman for her steadfast creativity coaching.

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