The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World

by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale

Overview

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? SQUIRRELS! Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of...a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go...NUTS?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484799086
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Series:	A Squirrel Girl Novel
Sold by:	DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE -EBKS
Format:	eBook
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Shannon Hale and Dean Hale are the award-winning husband-and-wife team behind the Princess in Black series, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Shannon Hale is also the author of the Newbery Honor novel Princess Academy as well as the New York Times best-selling series Ever After High. Shannon Hale and Dean Hale live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2017
Gr 4–7—Before becoming a full-fledged superhero with legions of squirrels at her side and defeating iconic Marvel villains such as Thanos and Galactus, Doreen Green was an ordinary teen who just happened to have a tail and the proportional strength of a squirrel. Though not quite an origin tale, this prequel to the popular graphic novel series provides the backstory for how Doreen became the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. After moving with her parents from California to New Jersey, Doreen begins to realize that she can use her powers for good, and within a short period of time Doreen's alter ego becomes immensely popular to the point that she attracts her own arch nemesis. Doreen must find a way to cope with high school life, keep her superhero identity a secret, and defeat the diabolical son of Hydra agents. Squirrel Girl's signature humor, ability to think through situations before using her incredible strength, and desire to help others have been successfully incorporated. While the narrative is not told in the first person, there are one-line remarks from Squirrel Girl on the bottom of each page reminiscent of the format Ryan North uses to make comments throughout the graphic novels. VERDICT New readers and fans of the "Squirrel Girl" graphic novels will not be disappointed with this fun and engaging middle grade title starring a strong, positive, and utterly likable heroine.—Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2016-12-06
A middle-grade origin story for Squirrel Girl, one of Marvel Comics' wackiest superheroes. Cheerful, silly, white, chubby-cheeked Doreen Green moves from sunny California to a surly New Jersey town besieged by mean girls, a minor crime wave, wild dogs, and horrific squirrel traps. Although her initial optimism is squashed in a typical fish-out-of-water new-kid story (which reaches a low point with the old new-kid-eating-lunch-in-the-bathroom cliché), it takes a lot to keep Doreen down. She's special—born with squirrel abilities proportional to her human size, including the ability to communicate with them, and a giant fluffy tail. Soon her heroics come out and draw the attention of an aspiring supervillain just waiting to make his name by sending his evil machines against a nemesis. The villain's cleverness makes him a good match for Squirrel Girl, who utilizes help from her friends (including squirrel Tippy-Toe and her deaf, Latina best friend, Ana Sofía) and exchanges comical text messages with famous Marvel characters in search of advice. The story is told in alternating chapters narrated in the first person for Tippy-Toe and third person for Doreen and Ana Sofía; the third-person account is interrupted, however, by first-person commentary from Doreen via footnotes. Early on, too many footnotes interrupt the narrative rhythm without serving enough purpose, but eventually her charm wins out. Despite a rough start, Doreen's story offers a heroine it's easy to go nuts over. (Science fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews