Earl the Squirrel

by Don Freeman

Earl the Squirrel’s mom wants him to learn how to find his own acorns. But Earl doesn’t even know where to begin. He is determined, though, to show his mother that he can find them. With the help of his red scarf—and a few animals along the way—Earl embarks on an all-night search. But will he ever be able to locate an acorn?

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Nature, Classics, Thanksgiving

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Don Freeman was a painter, printmaker, cartoonist, children's book author, and illustrator. He was born in San Diego, California, attended high school in Missouri, and later moved to New York City where he studied etching with John Sloan.
Frequent subjects included Broadway theatre, politics, and the circus. He was also a jazz musician, and the brother of circus entrepreneur Randy Freeman.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly, Don Freeman could not get this published during his lifetime. He had done a full set of scratchboard illustrations (the wonderful ones that ended up in the book). In 1978, he died. In 2002, his son Roy accidentally sent one of the illustrations to the University of Minnesota archive that held his papers. A curator asked him what book the illustration belonged to, and they discovered that "Earl the Squirrel" had never been published. The full set of illustrations was in storage in Switzerland; Roy took them to a book fair in Bologna, where Viking Children's Books quickly agreed to publish the book, about a mother squirrel who decides it's time her son learned to find acorns on his own. The illustrations are black and white, except for Earl's red scarf and a bull's red eyes.

Roy has another set of Don Freeman's unfinished illustrations that he plans to turn into a sequel called One More Acorn.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gift of a small red scarf leads to all sorts of adventures for Earl.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my tattoo will be the page where Earl's ears are cold and he covers up his head with his red scarf.

[Gina Zappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this book. At one point Earl wraps his scarf around his head like a babushka and I almost died from a cuteness overload.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Growing up and learning from experiences.

Conrad and Ferdinand are both bulls who like to sleep under trees, but that's where the similarity ends.

I wonder what the kids will think of this story. I wonder if I would have liked it as a child.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this delightful book last fall when I was looking for a book to send to preschool with my little girl. My first impression was absolute delight and the book has never disappointed.

Don Freeman is also the author of Corduroy, which may give you a feeling for the kind of book you might expect. Something that is delightful, tender, engaging and imaginative.

In this book, Earl the Squirrel hopes to make his mother proud by going out into the world to find acorns. Adorned with a red scarf he encounters a bull sleeping beneath an oak tree. But what will happen when the bull wakes up and sees the red scarf? I'll leave it to you to read and enjoy the wonderful ending to the story. This is certainly a book that should be enjoyed by both children and adults of all ages and stages.

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at Storytime on October 13, 2022
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Read at Storytime October 11, 2017
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I think that this is a favorite of mine so therefore, a favorite for storytime. Poor Earl is scolded into finding his own acorns which causes a horrible encounter with Conrad the bull. Lots of laughs in storytime.

Read for Storytime October 5th and 6th
Theme: Creepy Crawlies

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earl is a young squirrel who hasn't quite mastered the art of finding his own acorns. His mother is afraid he's getting spoiled by the little girl who leaves him nuts and even gives him a scarf. So Earl ventures out to get his own acorns, and inadvertently gets a bull rather angry with his scarf. Happily, things work out. He learns how to get his own acorns, and decides to return the scarf to the little girl.

Of course, I've been familiar with Don Freeman's other books about Corduroy since I was quite young, but I never remember coming across this book about a squirrel before. It's a cute tale, and I like the black and white illustrations with a splash of red.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know you have a good one where there are lots of gasps and moments to laugh out loud. This is a simple story, but my students loved it!

I grabbed it when I saw it at the library because the author also wrote Cordoroy, a story that they read and love in grade 2 in our school. This one is equally loved. They loved that the squirrel has a friend (and her name is Jill!). They liked the mom's grumpiness. They LOVED The bull named Conrad. They totally predicted that the bull would get upset about the red scarf too.

I thought the names were great too....Earl the Squirrel and Conrad. So plain that they seemed funny!

[Robyn Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this squirrel coming of age story Earl's mom tells him it's time to venture out and find his own acorn. At the same time his human friend gives him an acorn and a nut cracker (and later a red scarf). His mother is not pleased with this at all. She calls him spoiled and tells him he has to behave like a squirrel! Earl is sweet and crafty and not a bit petulant with his bossy mother. My 4 year old loves this book so much I found it in his bed the next morning along with the cup of acorns he's been collecting. As a bonus, I've never seen him wind down so fast during our bedtime routine.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earl is a child squirrel that his mama says is time he goes out to find his own acorns. But instead he goes to the house and a little girl in the window gives him the nuts. Later the little girl gives him a red scarf she thinks will help him stay warm. But his mama says he certainly is spoiled and that he needs to go find his own nuts. So he does go out to make his mama happy. With the red scarf it helps him get the nuts he needs and at the end of the book he takes the scarf back and leaves it with an acorn as a thank you to the little girl. a special storybook of caring for one another.

[Green Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earl the Squirrel is a lesser known picture book from Don Freeman (author of Corduroy) so it was wonderful "discovering" it on our shelves!

It may just be the BEST book we have in the store not just because of the main character sharing my name but it truly is a fun adventure story about friendship, being independent and resourceful, and proving oneself!!!

The black and white with striking red drawings really stand out!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is illustrated in only black, white and a touch of red, making for interesting pictures. The story is about a squirrel who has a human friend that gives him gifts that his mother believes are not befitting a squirrel. Earl decides to prove that he is a worthy squirrel by collecting acorns, anyway. This story has a nice flow and I would use it to teach about seasonal needs of animals and their habits.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should actually have 4.5 stars for the talent that went into the illustrations. I thought this story was cute. Earl is a young squirrel and his mother thinks it's high time for him to be acting like a proper squirrel who goes to gather nuts and not rely on his human friend. So begins his journey that will end in a somewhat humorous way as the squirrel comes into his own. I read this with my younger two (5 and 4) and we were highly entertained by the story and pulled into the illustrations.

[Maia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet, adorable, creative and whimsical book by the author of Corduroy. This less well-known book is drawn in a slightly different style from Corduroy, demonstrating the author's versatile skills, but the characters and story are just as endearing, if not more so to me. Did I say how much I love it? I do I do.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful kid's book recovered from the unpublished works of Freeman; the scratchboard art is marvelously done, and only uses red to accentuate Earl's scarf and an angry bull's eyes (even if the red cloth is a myth to antagonize them).
Great message for kids to get out and get things done for themselves, even if Earl's attempt is a bit dangerous in getting dinner.

[Kathryn Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earl is learning what it means to be spoiled. I would use this book in my classroom to build community. It would also be a nice book for parents to use if they are encountering problems similar at home.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. I guess this was "rediscovered" after Freeman died and published for the first time. I had never read it before. It is not as good as my favorite Freeman book (Dandilion), but it is a sweet children's book.

[Susan Honthumb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a new favorite author. As a child, I adored Paddington Bear. I just read for the first time Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman. Sweet story and darling illustrations. I would love to write such a simple, but meaningful book.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a neat example of woodcut-style illustrations for children who may not be familiar with the medium. The story is also original (something I don't feel that I see a lot of in children's fiction!). Enjoyable, something I wouldn't mind reading over and over to a child.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored Earl the Squirrel. I saw shades of Ferdinand in the picture of Conrad the bull under the tree, but mostly I just saw a super-sweet story about independence and ingenuity. What FABULOUS illustrations, too!

[Sophia F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations and story of this book complement each other well. The fluidity of the pictures fits perfectly with the simplicity of the plot and humor throughout the book. I would definitely recommend this to any child or artist or anyone else.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so cute!!! The black and white pictures are great, especially when the scarlet scarf is added. It’s a cute story of a squirrel who wants to show his mom that he can do grown-up things and make her proud. With the help of a human girl and a not-so-happy bull, he does.

[Henry&Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked it more than the kids. Crazy squirrel story! Loved the scratch board illustrations.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don Freeman's woodcuts are wonderful

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I am a huge fan of Corduroy, I just discovered this thanks to a friend.

[Kelsey Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how polite Earl was. It is a cute, simple story, but my four year old still doesn't understand why red makes bulls angry. I had a hard time explaining that it isn't really true.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earl the Squirrel must learn to find acorns on his own. Earl's red scarf stands out against the black and white illustrations, which I absolutely love.

[Rosanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute!

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations of this book. The message of the book is a good message.