Squirrels on Skis (Beginner Books

by J. Hamilton Ray, Pascal Lemaître (Illustrator)

This new Beginner Book about manic skiing squirrels—by J. Hamilton Ray with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre—has the feeling of an old classic read-aloud. "Nobody knew how the mania grew. First there was one, and then there were two. Three more came gliding from under the trees. LOOK! On the hill. Those are squirrels on skis! Below lay the town, snow-covered and still. Not a sound could be heard. All was silent, until . . .  Swwwishhhh  swooped the skiers, all dressed for play. Eighty-five squirrels and more on the way!" As you can imagine, the townsfolk are NOT amused. Can intrepid reporter Sally Sue Breeze find out where the squirrels are getting their skis-and make them stop skiing long enough to eat lunch-before pest-control guy Stanley Powers sucks them up in his vacuum device? (Don't worry—Sally triumphs in a most unexpected way.) With delightfully understated, funny illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre, this is the perfect book for beginning readers to curl up and chill out with on a snow day—or any day!

Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Poetry, Fiction, Adventure

64 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALL the Eggers love Squirrels on Skis!!!!

This book is right up our street. We took it out of the lib last week and it's been in heavy rotation around Chez Eggers ever since. It's easy and fun for all the kids to read on their own, and it also reads aloud very nicely. The rhymes are super charming and witty and the story is clever. I can't get enough of the wobbly squirrel illustrations, and of course I really dig our hero, Sally Sue Breeze, the reporter who couldn't be any shorter. She's definitely the town's most savvy citizen and knows there's got to be more to the skiing squirrel mania than meets the eye. Well I don't want to spoil the plot, so I'll just tell you that she's really onto something. All us Eggers collectively agree that Squirrels on Skis is a 5-star-worthy book! We love it!

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

IN this book: The Squirrels are riding on their skis. And I read this book months ago so I dont quite remember what reeeeeeeeeeeealy happens, but in this review I just wannted to tell you that I
L-O-V-E squirrels. I call them Sqwaya! 🐿! I hope you have Enjoyed this review! ok bye guys!



🐾🐿

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun!

[Nancy Messina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both kids loved this one. I honestly enjoyed reading it to them. The rhymes were so fun and the story while crazy was fun.

[Anika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the thing, I think life is too complicated and we sometimes need to go back to the basics to remember some good life morals.
This book did that for me and it brought me so much joy because how could a bunch of squirrels on skis not?
If you are looking for a wholesome little book to brighten your day read this children's book.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beginning reader got a chuckle out of me. Silly story, cartoon illustrations--all good for a laugh.

[Katherine Cowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Squirrels. On skis. Doing crazy things. My kids seriously loved this. And I loved the spunky little girl who solves all the town's (and squirrels') problems.

Edited to add in Febuary 2022: I thought I had discovered a new book! My youngest absolutely loves it. But no, this is a book that my older children loved before my youngest was born.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, silly squirrels skiing

[Lacy | literary_lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very cute with pretty illustrations. My daughter asked me to read this book, and then just watched TV most of the time, but I enjoyed the book.

This book is pretty lengthy page wise, so my daughter got tired of listening me after a while, but I finished the book regardless.

This book isn’t particularly educational, but I did enjoy it, and think it would be good to read to older kids.

[Cathy Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this (very Canadian) story of the 85 squirrels skiing through the town and causing trouble. Will the town council be able to hire Stanley Powers, an exterminator to fix the problem? To the rescue is an intrepid reporter Sally Sue Breeze who finds out the problem and offers an alternative solution. This is an amazing story with darling illustration for beginner readers. Enjoy.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha! Just found this book while searching for two others! Classic! Any kid who loves squirrels is going to have a massive giggling fit over all these squirrels skiing! Illustrations are a hoot! Great job J. Hamilton Ray and Pascal Lemaitre!

[Megan Lukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

So maybe I’m biased because I’m from a ski town originally but this book was so fun! In rhyme, the scene is set for some incredibly happy, but hungry, squirrels go discover that skiing may actually be more fun than anything else. Even food! Haha!

[Lorraine Leatham · Rating 5 out of 5]

!y son and I enjoyed this book. Squirrels on Skis who would have thought.

Squirrels on Skis who would have thought? A rabbit entrepreneur. Very cute book. My son giggled all the way through.

[Emily Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a little town that’s being invaded with skiing squirrels. The mayor and one little girl figure out how to maintain peace between to townspeople and the squirrels. I would read this book to my students, preferable in the winter time, when discussing rhyming.

[Skylar Wisdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about crazy skiing squirrels who like to ski all around town. This book teaches young children about different literacy components such as phonemic awareness and alliteration. Overall, the rhyming element adds fun and chaos to the story for beginning readers.

[Darcie Saunier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! It has a nice rhyming cadence to it similar to Dr. Seuss. A little long for storytime perhaps, but I'm gonna use it! Fun!

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super Silly beginner reader. Who wouldn't enjoy crazy skiing squirrels.

[Lindsay Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and clever book about squirrels on skies that over run a town.

[Joy Keil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is hilarious. If you had an idea of where they were getting skis before they said in the story, then you're amazing!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the rhythm of the text and the silly but fun dory! It reads like a Dr. Seuss book.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underrated. Fun rhyming story to read in winter.

[Cheryl]

only if handy

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun silly and cute. 3 year old liked it too

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun. I enjoyed the illustrations and the rhyming and how a girl saved the day. I'd like to read it at a storytime!

[Tolkiengirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super fun book to read with the kids.

[Beth Strand · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Squirrels on Skis” Will Make Young Readers Giggle
It’s not often I have the chance to review a book for young readers so I was excited to get an advanced look at “Squirrels on Skis” by J. Hamilton Ray with illustrations by Pascal Lemaitre. This is one of the beginner books in the “I can read it all by myself” series designed for young readers. These are a great brand of books to either read to a child or for beginning readers who are eager to “read it my own self!”
“Squirrels on Skis” got mass approval from my test audience of two children going into second grade and one going into fifth grade. The story is fresh, funny and engaging and the use of repetitive phrasing helps young readers to master any new words by the end of the story. “Squirrels on Skis” is sure to bring a smile to the faces of both children and adults. The story also has an underlining lesson about the importance of balance, limits and boundaries that would make a good jumping off point for a discussion with a child about the importance of those things.
I would highly recommend “Squirrels on Skis” for young listeners or readers. Random House has a scheduled release date of September 10, 2013 which makes it a perfect “Back-to-School” treat to tuck into a back pack!
This book was provided to me by Random House for this review. The opinions, however, are entirely my own!

[Jj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously, this book is a hoot. The story is bizarre and funny in a way that kids will not only appreciate, but better yet find quite humorous. The text contains a bevy of rhymes that are neither awkward and forced nor wholly inappropriate. The illustrations are a bit rough, and convey the frenzied energy of the story and the characters. They are definitely drawn by hand instead of created from templates in an all-too-polished computer graphics program. There is a real plot, too, which might have been the best surprise of all about this book.

Recommended if you enjoy tales of furry woodland rodents, winter sports, rhymed stories, and nonsensical humor. Highly recommended if you're an elementary school student and/or near the "Green Eggs and Ham" reading level.

[Jennifer Clausen-greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the book could have been called Squirrels Gone Crazy! This is a cute book, with likeable characters. Funny and enjoyable. My son really liked this book and thought the illustrations were fantastic. The words were on grade level (ages 5-8) for what the author recommends, with a few challenging ones thrown into the mix. The book followed an easy rhyming pattern and the story moved along at a nice pace that kept my little mans attention. I loved how the town pulled together to help out the squirrels setting a wonderful example of community and caring for each other-person and animal alike. I would easily recommend this book.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Squirrels on Skis is so much fun! It is over-the-top, that's true enough, but it is just so imaginative! Squirrels on Skis tell the story of a town overwhelmed by hundreds of squirrels on skis. The residents of the town are not pleased overall. One or two squirrels on skis is cute enough, but this many?! Well, something has to be done...NOW!!! But the squirrels are at risk too. Their skiing is out of control. They're so busy skiing that they're not eating or sleeping! An intervention is clearly needed...

Sally Sue Breeze is a good heroine. She's a reporter that may just be able to solve the problem and bring about a happy resolution for everyone!

I would definitely recommend this one!

[Bridget's Quiet Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Not one of my favorites, but I did enjoy reading this book. It was really cute & of course, the pictures were well drawn and perfect!

I had never seen this book before so when I did see it, I had to just read it to see what it was about...Other than the obvious! lol

For more of an explanation of why I picked up these books, please go to the link provided below:

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think review and Explanation of why I picked these up