Maggie's Magic Map

This is a children's adventure story written in verse which is intended to be both fun and educational. Hoping to prolong 'lights out' with more stories and snacks and wondering what bedtime is like for animals, Maggie and the children are whisked by the Magic Map to the Alps. There they help Max the marmot prepare for hibernation and learn that bedtime can have a wholly different meaning from their own.

Alpine marmots, exquisitely adapted over millennia to their mountainous habitats in the Alps and Pyrenees, live in burrows which they dig using their sharp claws. Burrows typically house a single family and may be inherited and enlarged by subsequent generations. Marmots eat grasses, herbs, grains, insects and worms, which they consume in large amounts during the summer to create a layer of body fat which supports them during their long hibernation. Resembling large squirrels, they can weigh up to 15 lbs., particularly just prior to hibernation, and live 15-18 years. Marmots communicate with whistles and emit loud piercing screams when frightened.