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Squirrels by Brian Wildsmith
Paperback, as pictured (ch)
Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
89 people want to read
About the author
Brian Wildsmith
250 books54 followersBrian Wildsmith (1930-2016) was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, England, where, he says, "Everything was grey. There wasn't any colour. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..."
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.
He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.
Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."
In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.
Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.
— Source
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.
He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.
Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."
In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.
Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.
— Source
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 25, 2020
A wonderful book about the red squirrel. Common when I was a child but sadly only a small number left in England.
The illustrations are gorgeous, Wildsmith has a very distinctive style and his love of wildlife comes across in his observations. The facts were so interesting and fun, a must read for a young wildlife enthusiast! I was interested to learn a red squirrel builds a two roomed home and can not only swim but use it's tail as a sail! Fascinating!
Read on open library.
The illustrations are gorgeous, Wildsmith has a very distinctive style and his love of wildlife comes across in his observations. The facts were so interesting and fun, a must read for a young wildlife enthusiast! I was interested to learn a red squirrel builds a two roomed home and can not only swim but use it's tail as a sail! Fascinating!
Read on open library.
June 5, 2022
I loved both the text and the illustrations. The text is very descriptive and concise, and the illustrations are colorful, playful and imaginative. As a young girl I enjoyed 'helping' the squirrels in the park by hiding acorns for them in the hollows of trees with my grampy. In this book, I was truly surprised to learn that squirrels swim! Somehow I never knew that. My favorite line after a wonderful description of how to distinguish a squirrel is "He looks happy and mischievous," which I thought was very apt. Squirrels always strike me as being being full of energy and mischief.
January 26, 2021
We really liked this book. The illustrations were nice, and we learned lots about those little creatures that we were unaware of.
February 11, 2020
Gorgeous illustrations plus interesting and informative text make this a winner!
May 12, 2010
I think the most striking aspect of this book is the illustrations. I love that such colorful, vibrant, and energetic images are used. They engage the reader as does the descriptive text. This book is great for a science unit in the primary grades to teach about squirrels.
October 9, 2020
Way more informative then the illustrations suggest. This one is a keeper.
October 9, 2010
I have a few different thoughts about this book, so I'm gonna just make a numbered list:
1. The squirrels in this book are universally red squirrels - which are native to Europe and which are endangered in England due to the ill-advised introduction of American gray squirrels there.
This may be great (if you're British), meh (if you just don't care), or unfortunate (if you were planning to use this book in a unit on squirrels as a teacher in the US). At the very least, if you're American, you'll want to tell your kids that the squirrels in the book don't live here at all. (I didn't take off or add any stars for this.)
2. The writing is a bit formal and "factual", and it might be a little long for a younger child, one who isn't school-aged yet.
In addition, it's a bit old-fashioned. It was printed in 1974, but I guess the author had never heard of gender-neutral language because all sentences run along the lines of "when a squirrel swims, as he does sometimes, he can use his tail as a sail". A more recent book would probably say "When squirrels swim, as they do sometimes...."
This writing style is awkward to me, but it's not wrong or anything like that, it's just old-fashioned. (I didn't take off any stars for this either.)
3. And the artwork is beautiful. I love it, I adore it, I think the artwork is well worth the purchase price. I may have limited use for this book, but I don't care, I love the art. So this book stays at a solid four stars (my standard rating), but I'm tempted to nudge it up for the artwork. Beautiful!
1. The squirrels in this book are universally red squirrels - which are native to Europe and which are endangered in England due to the ill-advised introduction of American gray squirrels there.
This may be great (if you're British), meh (if you just don't care), or unfortunate (if you were planning to use this book in a unit on squirrels as a teacher in the US). At the very least, if you're American, you'll want to tell your kids that the squirrels in the book don't live here at all. (I didn't take off or add any stars for this.)
2. The writing is a bit formal and "factual", and it might be a little long for a younger child, one who isn't school-aged yet.
In addition, it's a bit old-fashioned. It was printed in 1974, but I guess the author had never heard of gender-neutral language because all sentences run along the lines of "when a squirrel swims, as he does sometimes, he can use his tail as a sail". A more recent book would probably say "When squirrels swim, as they do sometimes...."
This writing style is awkward to me, but it's not wrong or anything like that, it's just old-fashioned. (I didn't take off any stars for this either.)
3. And the artwork is beautiful. I love it, I adore it, I think the artwork is well worth the purchase price. I may have limited use for this book, but I don't care, I love the art. So this book stays at a solid four stars (my standard rating), but I'm tempted to nudge it up for the artwork. Beautiful!
January 7, 2018
'Squirrels' is packed with lots of rich language and, in particular, wonderful examples of adjectives. It would work really well as a resource for descriptive writing/ introducing similies in KS1.
Focusing on the life and activity of the squirrel, it is full of lots of different language for movement and therefore could be used in connection with a PE session.
As a factual text, it can be used as a resource to investigate the effects of the seasons on animals and nature. However, I find that the bright, appealing illustrations detract from the text as a piece of non-fiction. A fantastic example to demonstrate that non-fiction does not equal boring!
Finally, being a book on the natural environment, I wholeheartedly recommend the reading of it outdoors so that children can absorb the text as a complete sensory experience.
Focusing on the life and activity of the squirrel, it is full of lots of different language for movement and therefore could be used in connection with a PE session.
As a factual text, it can be used as a resource to investigate the effects of the seasons on animals and nature. However, I find that the bright, appealing illustrations detract from the text as a piece of non-fiction. A fantastic example to demonstrate that non-fiction does not equal boring!
Finally, being a book on the natural environment, I wholeheartedly recommend the reading of it outdoors so that children can absorb the text as a complete sensory experience.
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December 3, 2014In the book Squirrels, it describes everything there is about squirrels. It talks about how they find food, what they can use their tails for, where they prefer to live, what its like to for them to have babies and all sorts of things like that. The text is simple but detailed and is overpowered by the illustrations. The illustrations cover most of every page and it shows what the text is saying but since the pictures are a bit abstract and powerful it draws the readers attention more towards the pictures rather then the text.
February 25, 2015
Decent non-fiction is hard to find for the 2-3 year old set. This is an accessible, beautifully illustrated, well-written factual book about the lives of squirrels. I always find Brian Wildsmith at my local secondhand book fair and leave him there - the stories are bland and the illustrations, while distinctive, dated and a bit obscure (perhaps it's the print quality?). Anyway, this one is good! I only wish we didn't have so much material on Northern Hemisphere animals. It will be hard to balance this in favour of our local fauna.
December 17, 2014
This is the most interesting and colorful book ever about squirrels!
It has so many squirrel facts in it and GREAT pictures.
And you know what? I thought it was a story book but it's a fact book that LOOKS like a story, and that's even better.
Their houses have two rooms and are called "dreys." I didn't know that.
After I read this I looked at real squirrel pictures on the computer, but that's not about the book.
This is a GREAT one!!!
It has so many squirrel facts in it and GREAT pictures.
And you know what? I thought it was a story book but it's a fact book that LOOKS like a story, and that's even better.
Their houses have two rooms and are called "dreys." I didn't know that.
After I read this I looked at real squirrel pictures on the computer, but that's not about the book.
This is a GREAT one!!!
March 29, 2016
This book made me laugh because it is weirdly specific. It included every fact you could possibly want to know about a squirrel. On each page was an illustration that matched the text. The illustrations were very unique. It was messy and vibrant, but also beautiful in certain ways. If you want to learn about squirrels, this is the perfect book for you! But really, it was very informative. It certainly would be fun for kids to look at the pictures while reading it.
October 14, 2010
My two year old hated this book and wouldn't let me read it to her. I think the eyes of the squirrels looks scary. However a kindergarten teacher used this book very nicely in circle time.
As a three year old, she listened to it. We will revisit this book next year.
As a three year old, she listened to it. We will revisit this book next year.
February 27, 2015
Wonderful children's picture book with facts about squirrels. The illustrations are amazing color-saturated watercolors that could read as too busy if they weren't so well done. Very worthwhile if you or your kids are into rodents.
January 19, 2016
Absolutely gorgeous painted illustrations. Interesting facts all about squirrels too. A great book. High level vocabulary is used in this book, but you can alter the words as you read it if your audience won't understand.
January 18, 2010
It's about squirrels! It looks like Eric Carle's work! How can it be wrong?!
July 12, 2012
Awesome artwork is in Wildsmith's vibrant signature style--the text is good too, but not as knock-out wonderful as the illustrations.
April 25, 2013
Gorgeous book, I want a million copies.
October 18, 2013
Beautiful art. The art is great and you get to learn the importance of a squirrel's tail.
November 15, 2013
Brian Wildsmith's Squirrels is both informative and colorful, a recommended read for anyone who likes squirrels.
March 26, 2019
Very vibrant illustrations
83/365
83/365
November 7, 2019
Just enough information to be fascinating. Lively, engaging illustrations. Interesting vocabulary terms. I learned the term "drey." Short enough to read aloud without rushing.
January 20, 2021
An information book about squirrels that reads like fiction, Squirrels is fun and beautiful. Always a delight when read to our students.
September 21, 2024
A wonderful book with lots of facts about squirrels, and beautiful illustrations!
November 5, 2022
Usually I anticipate the brightly colorful illustrations in Wildsmith’s titles, but this title had something beyond that, factual information about squirrels which I had never encountered before. First there was the fact that squirrels have babies twice per year and secondly that their nest is divided into two compartments. Definitely was not expecting to learn factual animal information in a Wildsmith title, but that is what the text of this title is facts about squirrels .
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews