Tabasco the Saucy Raccoon

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Almost 30 years ago, Lyn Hancock embarked on a cross-Canada journey to
promote her new book, There’s a Raccoon in My Parka. Accompanying her
on the tour was Tabasco, a one-pound, week-old, orphaned raccoon. This
is their story.

The cover photo of Tabasco is, in all likelihood, enough of an
incentive for most readers to pick up this book. For those requiring
further persuasion, Hancock’s accounts of the antics of the
mischievous raccoon should do the trick. Who could fail to be amused at
the havoc Tabasco creates in the bathroom, or the description of Tabasco
making off with sister Jan’s breakfast.

Having lived with and observed Tabasco for almost a year, Hancock is
able to include a wealth of factual information about raccoons; for
example, in an emergency a raccoon will always go up, not down.

Hancock has given each of the book’s nine chapters a title echoing
one of her earlier works: “There’s a Raccoon in My Neighbourhood,”
“There’s a Raccoon Under My Christmas Tree,” and so on. Each is
introduced by a full-page pencilled drawing depicting an event in that
chapter. Several black-and-white pictures of Tabasco conclude the book.

Children and adults alike will delight in this heartwarming story of
Lyn Hancock and her beloved pet, Tabasco. Highly recommended.