My daughter loves raccoons. She is six years old and her obsession with raccoons is now going on three years, and what’s not to love? They have hands, they’re smart, so smart in fact that once upon a time scientists thought they’d experiment on raccoons instead of rats. The raccoons were unmanageable, they chewed through their cages, pickpocketed researches and hid out in air vents. The scientists gave up them
There was once a raccoon living in the White House. Her name was Rebecca and President Calvin Coolidge made her part of the family. She even participated in the annual Easter Egg Hunt. I’ll bet she was quite good at that!
Over the last few years we have bought and borrowed every children’s book on raccoons we could find. This is a collection of some of her favorites and some of mine.
A Raccoon at the White House (Tails from History) by Rachel Dougherty, Illustrated by Rachel Sanson
https://www.amazon.com/Raccoon-White-House-Tails-History-ebook/dp/B075RVP8CG/
Probably my daughter’s favorite book. First we found it at the library but it became clear after many late fees we needed to buy a copy. Here it is, the story of Rebecca and her life at the White House with President Calvin Coolidge and his wife First Lady Grace Coolidge. Rebecca struggles to fit in with the other animals around the White House ( which there were many, including a donkey). The art is fantastic and I highly recommend this one for kids even if they aren’t obsessed with raccoons!
The Gift From Little Raccoon, A Pandemic Tale by Carolyn Watson Dubisch
https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Little-Raccoon-Pandemic-Tale/dp/B08T8F7JJN/
Little raccoon is worried about his friend, the girl, who no longer leaves her house. She’s not going to school or coming out to play, and he learns it’s because of the pandemic. This story touches on what’s going on right now. For my daughter the last year and a half has been a huge part of her life so far and having a book that actually talks about the world we live in right now is quite refreshing really. The illustrations are very, very good and it featured a number of other animals, as well as raccoons.
A Hug by Nicola Manton
https://www.amazon.com/Hug-Nicola-Manton-ebook/dp/B085X9CNGC/
Admittedly this book could use more raccoons, but my daughter likes this one I think because of the message. The illustrations are really endearing and like some of these others there are actually many animals represented, but the raccoon plays a prevalent role. The message is that it’s ok when you don’t feel like giving a hug even when you feel pressured by adults. I felt this way often as a child being quite a shy person myself. It will really hit home for a lot of kids.
Kita and the Magic Paint by Laura Schaumer, Illustrated by Pardeep Mehra
https://www.amazon.com/Kita-Magic-Paint-Laura-Schaumer-ebook/dp/B08MZHBXTP/
This one is a cute little story that manages to work in how to mix paint colors. Kita the raccoon is painting flowers on the forest floor. She finds a blue flower and wants to paint it red and voila! The colors mix and she has a purple flower. Soon all the animals want in on the magic paint. The raccoon is adorable in this one and my daughter also loves to play with paint so it’s a great fit for her.
Raccoon’s Perfect Snowman by Katia Wish
https://www.amazon.com/Raccoons-Perfect-Snowman-Katia-Wish/dp/1534110674/
This raccoon is also an artist, or more of a sculptor…. He’s a brilliant builder of snowmen and he wants to share his skills with the other animals. He gives directions, shares his techniques, but in the end the other animals cannot do as well, because he uses most of the tools and materials on his own snowman. This story is beautifully illustrated and comes with a good message and every kid loves making snowmen so it’s a winner around here.
Little Juniper Makes it BIG by Aiden Cassie
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Juniper-Makes-Aidan-Cassie/dp/0374310459/
Juniper is a young raccoon who feels too small for the world her. Everything around her was too big or too high and just out of reach. She comes up with clever contraptions that just don’t work and feels frustrated. Then she meets little Clove who is even smaller than she is and it puts the world into a new perspective. We love, love, love this book and the art is expression and fun and beautifully painted.
So that’s our top six books, though there are more that come close like “The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn and “The Bear Who Shared” by Katherine Rayner. Fortunately for us there is no shortage of raccoon picture books, probably because my daughter has me convinced they really are the most fascinating of all green balloons.