The Bravest of the Brave Read online

  THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

  Text copyright © 2005 by Shutta Crum

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Tim Bowers

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Distributed by Random House, Inc., New York.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Crum, Shutta.

  The bravest of the brave / by Shutta Crum ; illustrated by Tim Bowers. — 1st ed. p. cm.

  SUMMARY: A fearless little skunk sets off through the woods alone at night encountering scary creatures, which the reader can correctly identify as various forest animals.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98379-5

  ISBN: 978-0-375-82637-5

  [1. Skunks—Fiction. 2. Courage—Fiction. 3. Night—Fiction. 4. Forest animals—Fiction. 5. Forests and forestry—Fiction. 6. Stories in rhyme.] I. Bowers, Tim, ill. II. Title. PZ8.3.C88643Br 2005 [E]—dc22

  2004011045

  KNOPF, BORZOI BOOKS, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  v3.1

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  First Page

  Author and children’s librarian Shutta Crum says she knows what it’s like to be brave while being really scared. Once, she and her sister were sent to the store just before closing time. It was late, so they took a shortcut past an old house the neighborhood kids said was haunted. The sisters gripped hands as tightly as they could, ran as quickly as they could through the dark, and thought brave thoughts. They made it to the store on time, but her sister lost a shoe! So the next day, they thought brave thoughts again and went back to look for the shoe—but they never found it.

  Shutta Crum is the author of several books for children. She was born in Paintsville, Kentucky, and now lives on a farm in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she sometimes sees skunks.

  Tim Bowers says: “Some of my bravest moments have come late at night when I’m walking from my studio to the house. The quiet of the late night is my favorite time to create art. It’s also a great time for the local skunk family to explore the area looking for food. Many times, I’ve opened the studio door to find the skunk family with their noses to the ground, digging in the yard or under the bird feeder. When I know they are close by but can’t see them, I quietly leave the studio and carefully but quickly tiptoe through the darkness, back to the house. I always think brave thoughts as I hurry past our busy little skunk friends.”

  Tim Bowers is the illustrator of the Little Whistle series by Cynthia Rylant and Sherman Crunchley by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans. He lives in Ohio with his family. His house and studio sit high on a wooded hill and are surrounded by a variety of wildlife, including brave little skunks.

 

 

  Shutta Crum, The Bravest of the Brave

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