The Squirrels' Busy Year: A First Science Storybook

by Martin Jenkins, Richard Jones (Illustrator)

Overview

Budding scientists will enjoy a gentle introduction to the seasons as squirrels scamper through the winter, spring, summer, and fall.

It’s winter. It’s cold! The squirrels are digging up acorns to eat. But what will they eat in the spring, when the acorns are gone? As the bushy-tailed creatures weather snowstorms, thunderstorms, and hot summer days, this gentle story uses simple, clear language and beautiful illustrations to introduce very young readers to the seasons and the changing weather they bring. Basic questions at the end help children remember and expand on what they’ve learned, and back matter includes an index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763696009
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/10/2018
Series:	Science Storybooks Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Martin Jenkins has written many celebrated books for children, including the First Science Storybook Bird Builds a Nest, illustrated by Richard Jones; The Emperor’s Egg, illustrated by Jane Chapman; and Can We Save the Tiger?, illustrated by Vicky White. Martin Jenkins lives in England, where he works as a conservation biologist.

Richard Jones is also the illustrator of the First Science Storybook Bird Builds a Nest, written by Martin Jenkins. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

08/20/2018
In a companion to Bird Builds a Nest, Jenkins opens with a brief discussion of weather and season-related concepts (the Earth’s orbit around the sun, clouds, thunderstorms) before offering a seasonal, image-rich story about two squirrels. They begin tucked away in their winter den; in spring, the two “are out and about, looking for food. The acorns are all gone, but there are fat, juicy buds on the maple trees.” Throughout the year, an owl watches over the woodland glen—in one spread, the squirrels narrowly escape his talons. Jones’s compositions feature chiseled lines, grassy textures, and artful use of perspective, including a view from deep inside the squirrels’ nest. The science-based content is edifying, though Jenkins’s subtle message about the value of observing changes in nature may resonate most strongly. Ages 4–6. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Muted, mixed-media illustrations pair nicely with spare, poetic text that depicts the seasons in a forest...A lyrical introduction to STEM for budding scientists, animal lovers, and artists everywhere.
—Kirkus Reviews

Mixed-media illustrations echo the scientific sophistication of the text, using a muted palette that still captures each season’s distinct landscapes, trees, and animal behaviors. The stylized, but not anthropomorphized, squirrels are filled with personality, as if stopped for just a moment as they scurry up and down tree branches.
—The Horn Book

Jones’ lovely illustrations capture the serenity and drama of nature, and Jenkins’ storybook approach makes the information easy to digest.
—Booklist

From the Publisher

07/01/2018
PreS-Gr 1—Veteran science writer Jenkins introduces the seasons as experienced by a pair of gray squirrels in this follow-up to Bird Builds a Nest. Opening in winter, the simple text sets the scene: "It's cold! The sun is low in the sky, the pond is frozen, and there's snow on the ground." A diurnal owl accompanies readers, observing the squirrels' activities as they relate to the seasons: finding stored food in the winter, eating juicy buds and bulbs in the spring, experiencing a thunderstorm in the summer, and collecting and burying acorns in the fall. The book opens with an author's note that briefly explains the reason for seasons, clouds and precipitation, and thunderstorms. It concludes with "Thinking About Seasons and Weather," a series of follow-up questions intended to prompt discussion and extend the concepts introduced. There's a perfunctory index, too. Jones's stylized mixed-media illustrations are rendered in muted tones and sometimes take small liberties; for instance, gray squirrels are primarily solitary creatures though here they behave as a pair, and the spring maple tree features both "fat juicy buds" and full-grown leaves in a variety of colors including green, orange, and blue. VERDICT An additional purchase for collections with a shortage of STEM books about the seasons for their youngest patrons.—Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, MA

School Library Journal

2018-05-14
Muted, mixed-media illustrations pair nicely with spare, poetic text that depicts the seasons in a forest.An owl sits in a hole in a tree, "keeping an eye on things" as each new season begins and ends. Squirrels first seen curled up in a tree soon seek food as snowflakes drift down; birds and frogs liven up the pond in spring but quiet down in summer heat; the squirrels scurry about once again in fall as the frogs burrow their way into the mud below the pond. This book doesn't shy away from presenting natural dangers—when the owl goes hunting, squirrels must beware. And summer lightning hits the owl's tree—will it escape in time? Winter comes again, and so does a new perspective: Readers peek out through a hole in the tree from deep inside the squirrels' den to see the owl flying past. This first introduction to the science of seasons and animal behavior features painterly, detailed illustrations that enchant and instruct, illuminating and extending the lively, approachable, often onomatopoeic text. Frontmatter explains why we have seasons and certain weather patterns such as thunderstorms; complementary backmatter offers both topical discussion questions and a subject index, which further lend this book to STEM-related storytimes and activities.A lyrical introduction to STEM for budding scientists, animal lovers, and artists everywhere. (Informational picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews