Nuts to You!

by Lois Ehlert

It’s summer in the city, and a rascally squirrel is up to all sorts of tricks. He digs and eats and zips and hides, but when he sneaks inside an apartment window, it’s time for a nutty solution to get him out. Labels identify plants, birds, and insects on each page, and a glossary at the back of the book offers factual details about squirrels. “The simple, spirited plot, lively verse, and stunning double-page spreads will make Nuts to You! a storytime standard.”-- School Library Journal

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Realistic Fiction, Nature, Fiction

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Lois Ehlert has created numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor. She lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the ways a squirrel can drive you crazy! Nice collage type art that really goes well with the story. Reminded me of a squirrel that was in my backyard several years ago; s/he would come up to the backdoor and take the acorns I would leave there. Sadly s/he then disappeared.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! As with other Ehlert books, this one has the most wonderful pictures. Through the story of a child watching a squirrel out the window, the reader is given a look at the curiosity and climbing skills of a squirrel. Throughout the book, Ehlert also identifies common plants and insects that you might see as you watched the squirrels. This story takes place outside and apartment building, but could be used in a more rural Vermont setting just as easily. Children can learn how to safely watch and feed squirrels and could then use this information on a fun fall nature walk.
I would use this book as part of a fall theme or while teaching nature or local animals.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story for toddlers and pre-k about a squirrel that breaks into a house ever-so-shortly.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that squirrel wants to live with me.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The large font and huge pictures make this book a great read aloud text. Note the "Squirrel Talk" at the end has information about squirrels.

[Ana Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has a simple text.
Teach facts about squirrels and the way they leave.
The illustrations are little dark for young readers to get their attention.

[Ms.TPena Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a fun story which also gives a lot of information on squirrels and the plants, & things around them. Look for the information almost hidden in the flowers. It’ll be fun for children to hunt them out.

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone had left this out on a table at the library. Natalie seemed a bit interested in it, and it had a whole in the front cover, which is right up her alley, so I grabbed it. Mike read it that night for bed time. The story is narrated by a child who watches a squirrel and gets to interact with it. Its rhyming lines are simple. The illustrations are great - large spread with no white space and great colors that work well with the large font. What I really liked about this book more than usual I didn't see until I read it to Natalie this morning. All the pictures of animals and plants are labeled in small writing. That is super cool. Also, at the end, more information is given about squirrels. These factual features gave this book more dimension. Now it could be a great addition to a unit on animals. Or it could be a great book for an older and younger reader to enjoy together.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ehlert and I always use this squirrel story for my autumn Toddler time. 10/19/11

I used it with my PreK class today, so I would have an excuse to play Grey Squirrel on Sing It, Stamp It, Say It & everybody got up and shoke their bushy tail. We also did a squirrel finger play. 9/24/12

Used in my Baby/Toddler Lap Time and it went over quite well. Still having trouble finding young autumn books I like. 9/25/13

Used in Story Time and it went over the best with the small, young group. Now I have Grey Squirrel and the Silly Squirrel Dance on CD to do with Squirrel stories.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB:27 Nuts to You!. The story was quite interesting and this squirrel acted like any other one out in nature. The pictures were so cool and definately grabbed your attention. I have always wanted to have a pet squirrel and this story makes me want one even more now! I really liked how their was identifictions about squirrels at the end which can really help children learn more about them. I myself, learned a lot of new things I never knew about squirrels like them only having four toes in their front feet and five toes in their hind feet. Very cool book!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love most about this book was how I came to know it...at the children's room desk at the library, and a woman comes up to the desk and says without any other preface: "Nuts to You."
I figured she wanted a book with that title, but we librarians are a whimsical lot, so I replied "Nuts to you, too, sister."
And of course, after she recovered, aided by my disarming smile, I searched for the book. And of course, the book was OUT. Ah, the library.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our professor used this book as an example for substitute practice. There were lots of options for words to cover up and have the students figure out what might fit in the blank. At first there was a pattern of rhyming with lots of options that would fit and then towards the end she narrowed the options. Throughout the book, the author labeled the plants and animals and at the end there is more information about squirrels.

[Chad VanDosen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book with use of humor and rhyming. Especially living in the Midwest, squirrels are all over and children have prior knowledge of what squirrels are like. Rhyming is really cool to me, and Ehlert does a great job of doing it in this book. Children would enjoy the rhyming and the whole story line, so I would have this book in my classroom.

[Am.Aversa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was narrated from the point of view of a boy observing a squirrel. The squirrel is getting into the plants and got in the window into the house. I really liked this book because the illustrations are labeled. For example, on the first page, the fuchsia plant is labeled.
Genre: Realistic Fantasy

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids and I thought this book was fun and educational. Many things are labeled (like parts of the birds, plants, etc) which is a great jumping off place for little scientists. And it's silly. Better for pre-k to kindergarten ages.

My husband thought it was stupid. Nuts to him!

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm starting to develop a real love for Lois Ehlert. The simple text makes it appropriate for the youngest of readers. The nature depicted is accessible to children even in an urban environment. She labels her plants and animals, teaching me new things as well.

[Carey Voignier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labels identify plants, birds, and insects on each page, and a glossary at the back of the book offers factual details about squirrels.

Great to use with students before feeding the squirrels and exploring different variety of nuts.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun, simple book about a squirrel who lives outside of an apartment complex with the beautifully, colorful style Ehlert always brings to her work.

Great for a squirrel storytime for either preschoolers or toddlers.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a picture book about a squirrel who comes inside a house through a torn window screen. It has beautiful collage illustrations and a fun refrain, "Nuts to you!" Kids love shouting it out loud during storytime. A fun book overall.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute book! Great illustrations and facts about squirrels.

[Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Lois Ehlert, especially her books about cats. Since there are a lot of squirrels around my house, I wanted to read this book.
Ehlert's illustrations are so colorful and fun in this children's book. It's written from the point of view of a child spying on a squirrel outside their window. They love watching the squirrel, but then one day a surprise comes as the squirrel finds its way into their home. The story continues with a clever way the child lures the squirrel outside again.
In the last few pages is a section titled, "Squirrel talk", where Ehlert describes interesting facts about squirrels, and their habits.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyrighted first in 1993 one of my favorite collage artists, Louise Ehlert, she left no white space in this colllage illustrations as she usually has in other titles.
The hue of the colors in this title are very deep which makes it difficult to find and read some of the small print identification words of the other animals included in the illustrations. An interesting inclusion in this title is a section called “Squirrel Talk” which describes physical characteristics of squirrels and some of their habits.

This book is about a squirrel and his mischievous adventures.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Lois Ehlert has published a super-creative book that is visually gorgeous. Some info is to be gained about animals, mostly from a visual perspective. And, at the end, there's some added detail for young natural historians.

Clearly, the intended audience is children who love picture books, with the emphasis on "picture."

I can imagine this as a coffee table book, adorning a child-sized coffee table.

[Catie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s cute. “Nuts to you!” is kind of an odd catchphrase. I don’t think kids should be encouraged to feed squirrels at all, even if the book specifies at the back not to feed them directly from your hands. Humans interfering has harmed a lot of animals’ survival skills and wild ecosystems.

I like that the flowers, birds, and small insects are labeled so that if a kid asks what something is, you can have a good answer.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic fall favorite. My sister has a squirrel that terrorizes her house, and this book portrayed those little dudes super accurately! This book has a good amount of text for a storytime, though not an obvious way to make it interactive, though I'm sure I could find a way if I thought about it more.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are making our way through Lois Ehlert’s collection (Eating the Alphabet is our first and favorite!). This one is about a boy who befriends a squirrel by bribing him with peanuts. Appropriate for toddlers with its short (and large) text and bright unique illustrations. I think she and Eric Carle have very similar style, which makes sense why we love them both!

[Jeimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ehlert enjoys watching squirrels and it shows! I loved the squirrel portrayed in these pages, but it was Ehlert's mixed-media collages that kept me from turning the pages. I loved the little watercolor details and how a somewhat abstract figure could become a flower, a leaf, or even a bird depending on how you cut it!

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lois Ehlert has a unique way of illustrating her books with some similarities to Eric Carle. Usually, her text font is larger for students to visualize and quite often she labels throughout her stories.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and funny story. A troublesome squirrel gets into the narrators room (based on an experience of the author). My kids and o appreciated that the different flowers and bugs in the illustrations were labeled as well. There is some factual info about squirrels included at the end as well.

[Ellice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This colorful picture book tells the story of a mischievous squirrel and the little girl who wants him to come into her home—until he actually does. The story is very simple but the watercolor collage illustrations are gorgeous.