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Summary
Summary
Caldecott Honor winner David Ezra Stein's lively tale is a fantastic read-aloud, and feisty Mama Squirrel will have fierce mamas everywhere applauding!
Ol' Mama Squirrel has raised lots of babies, and she knows just how to protect them. Whenever trouble comes nosing around, she springs into action with a determined "Chook, chook, chook!" and scares trouble away. Her bravery is put to the test, however, when a really big threat wanders into town and onto her tree. But no matter what, Mama's not about to back down!
Author Notes
David Ezra Stein (www.davidezra.com) received a Caldecott Honor for Interrupting Chicken and the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for Leaves , which was also a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice and a School Library Journal Best Book. He also wrote and illustrated Love, Mouserella , Pouch! , The Nice Book and Monster Hug! He lives in Kew Gardens, New York.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
As he did in Interrupting Chicken and Pouch!, Stein again shows his skill at finding laughs in commonplace situations. Ol' Mama Squirrel keeps her squirrel children safe from a variety of intruders (cats, owls, repairmen) with a combination of noise, bluff, and bloody-minded indignation. When a dog threatens, she "clattered in the high branches. chook chook chook! She chattered in the low branches. chook chook chook! She scrabbled right side up and upside down while she scolded that dog." Stein's all-too-real vignettes of the angry squirrel's arched eyebrows and waving fists are funny all by themselves, and when a sneering grizzly bear shows up and the suspense builds, Ol' Mama Squirrel doesn't flinch. The book gallops along without pausing for breath, and there's something deeply gratifying about the story of a mother whose perfect confidence assures that her children will always be safe. Yet Stein makes it possible to sympathize with the victims, too: "They must put crazy powder in the nuts around here!" says the dog she's chased off. A rousing and rowdy readaloud. Ages 3-5. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
"Chook, chook, chook!" That's the sound of Mama Squirrel protecting her babies from all manner of danger in the park. The no-nonsense mother peering from her safe heart-shaped hollow in a tree lets the reader know who is in charge of her beloved babies. Whether it's a cat, dog, owl, tree-pruner, kite, or airplane that tries to approach, each is met with the same scolding and soon sent packing. Mama has to summon up all her courage (and an army of neighboring and willing squirrels) to fend off the last challenge -- "a great, growling grizzly bear." Lively, loose, gestural drawings, in ink and watercolor and crayon, keep the story light. Smaller framed pictures (often with Mama bursting through them) alternate with double-page spreads, in earthy greens and browns against generous white space. Mama is always front and center, here lounging on the high boughs scolding the frightened owl into finding easier pickings, there sneaking a look at a nosy dog with sharp, angry eyes. Human parents will admire her singleness of purpose, and youngsters will chuckle at the way she challenges danger with a familiar wag of a finger, raised eyebrow, and fierce hands-on-hips stance that lets us all know, "And that takes care of that!" robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ol' Mama Squirrel scolds everyone who comes close to the babies in her tree. Cats, owls, dogs, even the arborist all are met with a formidable chook chook chook! But when a great growling grizzly will not be deterred, Ol' Mama Squirrel calls in reinforcements. All the squirrels of the city come to her aid and, in a singular, projectile assault (using nuts, of course), chase the bear away. Order is restored, a plaque is erected, and Ol' Mama Squirrel returns to her irascible, protective ways. Stein matches a particularly colloquial telling with loose, chunky watercolors in a restrained green and brown palette, adding hilarity to a folkloric tale with sweetly comedic effect. Genial details, like the Squirrel family's heart-shaped hole in the tree, compound the agreeable fun. Happy children will demand multiple readings of this insouciant, affable outing.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Children will certainly enjoy the blend of language and humor in David Ezra Stein's energetic story (Nancy Paulsen Bks., 2013) of a protective and tenacious mother squirrel simply trying to keep dangerous intruders from her babies. Whenever a trespasser (animal, human, or passing airplane) intrudes on the peace of her tree, Mama Squirrel takes charge, prompting the nosy dog to lament, "They must put crazy powder in the nuts around here!" When a very determined and hungry bear comes sniffing around the tree one day, Mama Squirrel is put to the test and her quick thinking saves the day. The repeated line "Chook, chook, chook!" throughout the story gets better and better as Mama Squirrel scolds and rebukes all unwelcome visitors. The animated refrain allows children to join in on the noisy rodent fun. Listeners will delight in Julia Gibson's reading, with her maternal voice, hint of southern charm, and dry wit that adds to the humor. Page-turn signals are optional.-Jennifer Mann, Cromaine District Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Don't let her size fool you: Ol' Mama Squirrel is as fierce as any lioness when it comes to protecting her young. Nestled in the safety of a tree hollow, Mama's babies are safe and sound as she fends off any perceived threats to their well-being. "Chook chook chook!" she scolds when a kite, a dog, an airplane or even an arborist come too close. She seems to meet her match, however, when a fearsome bear is undeterred by her scolding and even withstands being pelted by her hoard of acorns. "I'll eat your whole family tree," he threatens in a brilliant spread with an aerial view showing the bear trying to climb the tree to reach the squirrels' nest. "Not on my watch, buster!" Ol' Mama Squirrel declares, and then she calls to all of the area squirrels, who add their own scolding voices to hers in a scene reminiscent of the little fishes' triumph in Leo Lionni's Swimmy (1963). It takes a village, as the ol' saying goes. Kids will go nuts for this title--and in a metafictive turn, one can only imagine that Stein's Little Chicken from his Caldecott Honorwinning Interrupting Chicken (2010) would love it, too, given its focus on keeping little ones safe. This effervescent tale brims with humor and vibrant characterization. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
