The Busy Little Squirrel

by Nancy Tafuri

Overview

The leaves have started to fall. The air is cold. Squirrel needs to get ready for winter. He cannot nibble with the mice. He does not have time to hop with the frogs or run with the dogs. But there is one thing he can do!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689873416
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	08/28/2007
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	500,297
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	AD410L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy Tafuri is the much-loved creator of more than thirty books for young children, including the Caldecott Honor Book Have You Seen My Duckling? and I Love You, Little One. She lives with her husband and daughter in Roxbury, Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

Tafuri (Have You Seen My Duckling?) is in classic form in her latest large-scale offering. As Squirrel hops and jumps through a pumpkin patch and around the nearby woods, his long, rangy body expertly scaling branches and the occasional bird feeder, friends invite him to pause for some fun. "But Squirrel couldn't," explains Tafuri. "He was so busy!" Kids can chime in on six oldie-but-goodie animal sounds ("Squeak, squeak," says Mouse, "Will you nibble a pumpkin with us?") while they savor Tafuri's signature style: the precisely drawn, generously sized animal shapes, the delicate detailing that makes fur and feathers bristle with energy, and the softly variegated colors that evoke the magic of the season. A wonderful book to usher in autumn. Ages 2-5. (Aug.)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS-K A worthwhile addition to Tafuri's growing treasury of simple and satisfying stories for young children. Squirrel is getting ready for winter. Other animals, such as Mouse, Frog, and Cat, want him to stop and play, but the refrain is always the same: "But Squirrel couldn't....He was so busy!" Finally, when night arrives, Owl invites him to watch the moon, "But Squirrel couldn't....He was fast asleep!" The drama of the page turn is used to good effect as Squirrel leaps, climbs, and runs through his day gathering and storing food. Readers will be engaged by the oversize illustrations and kept busy naming the many items accumulated-acorns, berries, ears of corn-as well as spotting a fellow squirrel and various insects presented on each spread. The text, with its soothing repetition, is predictable and reassuring. A natural choice for fall read-aloud programs.-Martha Topol, Traverse Heights Elementary School, MI

School Library Journal

When winter nears, Squirrel begins his preparations. The leaves begin to fall and the air starts getting colder, so Squirrel springs into action. He has no time to talk to a pair of mice eating a pumpkin or cardinals on a high branch or frogs on the edge of the pond. "He was so busy!" is the repeated refrain. Not even a family of dogs can slow Squirrel's determined gathering of apples and berries and acorns. Tafuri's signature illustrations, rendered in brush pen, ink and watercolor pencils depict his brisk autumn movements with precision. Owl, protectively covering three wee owlets, asks Squirrel to watch the moon with him, but he can't; he's fast asleep with his booty in the hole of a tree. An appealing nature lesson for the very young, abetted by direct, simple text and the pictures' subtle detail and attractive composition. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews