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Perri: The Youth of A Squirrel
A squirrel grows up, learning about survival, friendship, and love as she observes and interacts with other prey, predators, scavengers, King Bambi, and He with the fire-arm. Meanwhile, a little girl loses her innocence and her ability to talk with the forest creatures.
174 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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About the author
Felix Salten
322 books114 followersThere is more than one author with this Name.
Felix Salten was an Austrian writer. He was born Siegmund Salzmann in Budapest, Hungary. When he was three weeks old, his family moved to Vienna, Austria. Many Jews were immigrating into the city in the late 19th century because Vienna had finally granted full citizenship to Jews in 1867.
When his father went bankrupt, Felix had to quit school and begin working in an insurance agency. He also began submitting poems and book reviews to journals. He became part of the Young Vienna movement (Jung Wien) and soon received work as a full-time art and theater critic in the Vienna press. In 1901 he founded Vienna's first, short-lived literary cabaret. In 1900 he published his first collection of short stories. He was soon publishing, on an average, one book a year, of plays, short stories, novels, travel books, and essay collections. He also wrote for nearly all the major newspapers of Vienna. He wrote film scripts and librettos for operettas. In 1927 he became president of the Austrian P.E.N. club. (acronym of the International Association of Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Editors, and Novelists)
His most famous work is Bambi, which he wrote in 1923. It was translated into English in 1928 and became a Book-of-the-Month Club hit. In 1933, he sold the film rights to Sidney Franklin for $1,000, who later transferred the rights to the Walt Disney studios. Disney released its movie based on Bambi in 1942.
Life in Austria became perilous for a prominent Jew in the 1930s. Adolf Hitler had Salten's books banned in 1936. Two years later (1938), after Austria had become part of Germany, Salten moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he lived until his death.
He was married to the actress Ottilie Metzl, and had two children: Paul and Anna-Katherina. He wrote another book based on the character Bambi, titled Bambi's Children: The Story of a Forest Family, 1939. His stories "Perri" and "The Hound of Florence" inspired the Disney films Perri and The Shaggy Dog.
Salten is considered to be the author of the erotic novel Josephine Mutzenbacher, the fictional autobiography of a Vienna prostitute, which was published in 1906.
Felix Salten was an Austrian writer. He was born Siegmund Salzmann in Budapest, Hungary. When he was three weeks old, his family moved to Vienna, Austria. Many Jews were immigrating into the city in the late 19th century because Vienna had finally granted full citizenship to Jews in 1867.
When his father went bankrupt, Felix had to quit school and begin working in an insurance agency. He also began submitting poems and book reviews to journals. He became part of the Young Vienna movement (Jung Wien) and soon received work as a full-time art and theater critic in the Vienna press. In 1901 he founded Vienna's first, short-lived literary cabaret. In 1900 he published his first collection of short stories. He was soon publishing, on an average, one book a year, of plays, short stories, novels, travel books, and essay collections. He also wrote for nearly all the major newspapers of Vienna. He wrote film scripts and librettos for operettas. In 1927 he became president of the Austrian P.E.N. club. (acronym of the International Association of Poets and Playwrights, Essayists and Editors, and Novelists)
His most famous work is Bambi, which he wrote in 1923. It was translated into English in 1928 and became a Book-of-the-Month Club hit. In 1933, he sold the film rights to Sidney Franklin for $1,000, who later transferred the rights to the Walt Disney studios. Disney released its movie based on Bambi in 1942.
Life in Austria became perilous for a prominent Jew in the 1930s. Adolf Hitler had Salten's books banned in 1936. Two years later (1938), after Austria had become part of Germany, Salten moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he lived until his death.
He was married to the actress Ottilie Metzl, and had two children: Paul and Anna-Katherina. He wrote another book based on the character Bambi, titled Bambi's Children: The Story of a Forest Family, 1939. His stories "Perri" and "The Hound of Florence" inspired the Disney films Perri and The Shaggy Dog.
Salten is considered to be the author of the erotic novel Josephine Mutzenbacher, the fictional autobiography of a Vienna prostitute, which was published in 1906.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 29, 2022
This did not age well. I wonder if Bami was this bad :P
March 12, 2010
Sentient squirrels! Is anything else of more interest in the world?
January 16, 2013
An excellent book for a gentle introduction to life from a forest animal's point of view, in this case a squirrel.
March 24, 2022
While I enjoyed the story, the ending had a sad note to it, even sadder than the ending from Bambi.
Speaking of the deer, we only get one cameo and barely a couple more mentions
Speaking of the deer, we only get one cameo and barely a couple more mentions
February 2, 2014
I read this as a child, so hesitate to offer a review as an adult. Loved it back then!
March 13, 2021
After the disappointment that was Renni the rescuer, this one was a refreshing short read. It's a story about Perri the red squirrel that lives in the same forest as Bambi and we even get to see a cameo from Bambi!
This is by no means a light book about happy little squirrels though. It's about as dark as Bambi is. We get to see Perri grow up, we get to read a pretty graphic and gorey scene about her mother's death - though it's never confirmed what killed her and there are several scenes where animals have to flee in terror because hunters go on a shooting spree and kill a lot of them. There are a lot of intense heart stopping scenes, but there are also those calm slice-of-life scenes where we just get to see squirrels playing together racing from tree top to tree top or listening to the stories from a human child they befriend.
I also like that there is a slight touch of magic introduced in the story but it's not overpowering. The young daughter of the gamekeeper who is 3 is still able to talk to animals and understand them, so all the forest creatures come to her to have a conversation with her - at the end of the book she turns 4 though and because she does, she is now no longer a toddler and cannot understand the animals anymore and the animals can't understand her because she is slowly growing up - we get a bittersweet ending where Perri and her mate Porro go back to her cottage and they want to tell her all about the life they are building for themselves and the new place they moved into- but she can no longer understand them and they can no longer understand her. It's a bittersweet ending but I liked it.
Also, I didn't know that squirrels fight each other for mates- the scene where three male squirrels fight each other for Perri is pretty graphic and intense - I didn't know that squirrels could get that violent. You learn something new every day I guess.
This is by no means a light book about happy little squirrels though. It's about as dark as Bambi is. We get to see Perri grow up, we get to read a pretty graphic and gorey scene about her mother's death - though it's never confirmed what killed her and there are several scenes where animals have to flee in terror because hunters go on a shooting spree and kill a lot of them. There are a lot of intense heart stopping scenes, but there are also those calm slice-of-life scenes where we just get to see squirrels playing together racing from tree top to tree top or listening to the stories from a human child they befriend.
I also like that there is a slight touch of magic introduced in the story but it's not overpowering. The young daughter of the gamekeeper who is 3 is still able to talk to animals and understand them, so all the forest creatures come to her to have a conversation with her - at the end of the book she turns 4 though and because she does, she is now no longer a toddler and cannot understand the animals anymore and the animals can't understand her because she is slowly growing up - we get a bittersweet ending where Perri and her mate Porro go back to her cottage and they want to tell her all about the life they are building for themselves and the new place they moved into- but she can no longer understand them and they can no longer understand her. It's a bittersweet ending but I liked it.
Also, I didn't know that squirrels fight each other for mates- the scene where three male squirrels fight each other for Perri is pretty graphic and intense - I didn't know that squirrels could get that violent. You learn something new every day I guess.
September 15, 2024
This is the story of one year in the life of a red squirrel in a European forest. It’s part of the Bambi series, originally published in German in the 1920s. The version I have was translated by Barrows Mussey and published in 1938.
I’ve read two other books from the series and loved them, but this one surprised me by becoming my new favorite. All the joys, fears, confusion, and sorrow in this story hit me hard. I can’t explain further without spoilers, but it has more to do with the beautiful writing and unique perspective than the plot itself.
The animals are anthropomorphic and talk to each other, but most of their behavior is based in reality. It’s very obvious that the author spent many hours in the forest and knew his subjects well. It’s a style of animal writing that I really enjoy.
Recommended to people who love old naturalist books and don’t mind a slow-paced and thoughtful story.
I’ve read two other books from the series and loved them, but this one surprised me by becoming my new favorite. All the joys, fears, confusion, and sorrow in this story hit me hard. I can’t explain further without spoilers, but it has more to do with the beautiful writing and unique perspective than the plot itself.
The animals are anthropomorphic and talk to each other, but most of their behavior is based in reality. It’s very obvious that the author spent many hours in the forest and knew his subjects well. It’s a style of animal writing that I really enjoy.
Recommended to people who love old naturalist books and don’t mind a slow-paced and thoughtful story.
June 30, 2021
So in my quest to watch all of the Disney movies I read this book. I had no idea that the man who wrote “Bambi” wrote a bunch of books. This book very briefly shows Bambi, but he is not the focus of this book. The main character in this book is a squirrel named Perri. The book really seems to show how the circle of life works. There was a lot of hunting in this book and the evil He (Man). I’m usually not a big fan of squirrels, but I actually liked Perri and Porro. They question what love is throughout the book, which I thought was really cute. Overall it wasn’t a bad book and I do think the book is better than the movie.
MVP: Porro
MVP: Porro
September 4, 2017
It was a really cute, very adventurous and really well-written children's novel. It had really artistic illustrations, really good characters, really fun adventure, really good drama, really good heart and a really interesting story. I haven't read this book in a really long time. I think it's going to be one of my favorite Felix Salten children's books I've ever read in my whole life. I really recommend this book to both children and adults.
August 10, 2018
This review is by my grandmother, from her "Books I Have Read" diary, started in 1938. It is on page 8.
Story of a little Austrian red squirrel and her male companion, Porro. Rather childish but it reveals the author's great knowledge of woodland beings, and it is rather a charming story. The squirrels are charmingly portrayed.
Story of a little Austrian red squirrel and her male companion, Porro. Rather childish but it reveals the author's great knowledge of woodland beings, and it is rather a charming story. The squirrels are charmingly portrayed.
April 5, 2018
Kedves kis történet, mértéktartó megfogalmazásban keverve a naiv, gyerekes a komoly tartalommal és élethelyzetekkel.
July 9, 2018
This was a rather dull read.
January 15, 2020
It’s not as cold hearted as Bambi, yet it somehow manages be just as heart wrenching and melancholic by the end.
February 7, 2022
A classic tale of a squirrel in the forests of Central Europe.
August 28, 2025
I like this book. I like that Bambi was in it, and I like Perri and the ways she learns to grow up. It's a sweet book.
June 4, 2018
Read May 2018
March 1, 2024
An interesting view of the relationship between children and animals, but that only took up a very small part of this book.
The squirrels were very scatterbrained. I suppose that is to be expected with young squirrels, but I found it frustrating at times. Felix Salten did seem to capture the energetic squirrel mindset well though.
The squirrels were very scatterbrained. I suppose that is to be expected with young squirrels, but I found it frustrating at times. Felix Salten did seem to capture the energetic squirrel mindset well though.
April 17, 2016
I'm shelving this as nature, but that's a stretch. It's in the same style as Bambi except this is about a squirrel.
June 1, 2020
A far cry from the awesomeness that is Bambi and its sequel.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...
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December 29, 2020Another nostalgic gem from the “Gma & Gpa box”
May 11, 2025
"The feeling of freedom made me wildly happy. Happiness filled me with courage, and courage gave me strength."
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews