The deer that arrived on Christmas day was in poor shape.

His coat was ruffled and he was so thin that every rib stood out and I could see the bones in his flanks. His legs trembled as he stood and his head shook as he pulled the seed stalks loose. . . . His face was gaunt and its fur pitted. His right ear was raggedly notched and his eyes were dull. He jerked as though to run away, then dropped his head again to the seeds. (12)

With kindness, Helen and Adrian Hoover nursed Peter (the name they gave this blind-in-one-eye deer) back to health. The Gift of the Deer is Peter’s story as year-after-year he returned to the Hoover’s cabin to show of his mate and their progeny.

The Hoovers left the busyness of Chicago in 1954 to start a new life in the woods of northern Minnesota. Helen’s prose along with Adrian’s illustrations are a window into this fresh new life. If you’re inclined to the outdoors at all, this book will evoke a sense of longing for the sort of life that thrives outside of modern entrapments and conveniences.

Hoover, Helen. The Gift of the Deer. 1966. Illustrated by Adrian Hoover. U of Minnesota P, 1998.