Squirrel's Busy  Day

A RED squirrel! It is autumn, so off he sets to collect acorns, using his old trolley. Every friend he meets wants him to play, or stop and chat, but Squirrel rebuffs them all, he has no time for any of them.  He just concentrates on filling that trolley. Come the time to get his hoard home, the trolley is full and very, very heavy. What should he do when the handle snaps? Acorns fly everywhere. Exhausted Squirrel is so relieved when all his friends, previously rejected, fly or run to his rescue. There is a lovely double spread for counting; ONE acorn found under a leaf by Mouse, TWO beside some mushrooms by Fox, THREE amongst fir cones… each character painted in bold colours within clear outlines. Once more the trolley is full, and this time all the friends help get it home. Squirrel shows his appreciation for their help, apologising for being in such a hurry earlier. Badger tells him that’s what friends are for, to help when needed, but Squirrel merrily adds, also for playing! The book closes with a page of ideas for further discussion especially talking about the importance of friendship. Children will love identifying all the creatures scattered through the book that are not main characters, and the story would be great fun to enact in the classroom.