The Squirrel's Thanksgiving

by Steven Kroll, Jeni Bassett (Illustrator)

Despite Papa Squirrel's remonstrations that Buddy and Brenda should be grateful for friends and family at Thanksgiving, the energetic squirrel siblings find it increasingly difficult to get along. Reprint.

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brenda and Buddy Squirrel discover that things could always be worse in this Thanksgiving picture book about learning to count your blessings. Although the siblings try to be polite, after their parents tell them that on Thanksgiving Day they must show how thankful they are for one another, they have trouble maintaining their good behavior—even in church. Sibling rivalry, and their resentment of small slights leads them to think they really don't have anything to be thankful for. Then their cousins Penny and Chuck come to holiday dinner, and demonstrate what a truly spiteful relationship looks like...

Originally published in 1991, The Squirrels' Thanksgiving is the second seasonal picture book I have read from author/illustrator team Steven Kroll and Jeni Bassett, after their The Biggest Pumpkin Ever . Like that other book, it features anthropomorphic animals, using them in this case to explore family dynamics at the holidays, and to emphasize that sometimes, the people who annoy us from day to day, really aren't that bad. I'm not sure what it says, that this insight must come from an example of truly poor behavior—no hope of future character development for Penny and Chuck is offered in the narrative—but leaving that aside, I think many children will be able to identify with this tale of siblings squabbling at the holidays. The accompanying artwork isn't a standout, but is cute enough. I'm not honestly sure I would strongly recommend this one, save perhaps to picture book audiences looking for stories which address sibling rivalry at the holidays.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sibling squirrels Buddy and Brenda get on each others nerves like all siblings do sometimes. When it's time for Thanksgiving their parents ask them to find a reason to be thankful for each other. They each start the next day doing something nice for the other and really understand what it all means when they have their relatives over and their cousins are mean and awful not only to them but to each other. A good lesson in finding out what you have is better than you thought and appreciating it.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though Momma and Poppa Squirrel are thankful for their family, Buddy and Brenda, siblings, aren’t so sure. They each think of the annoying things their sibling did during the day. How will they ever figure out a way to be thankful for each other on Thanksgiving Day? But the next morning, they find it’s not too hard to be kind to one another.

When their cousins show up for dinner, though, Buddy and Brenda discover that things could be worse, because Penny and Chuck are mean to each other and everyone else.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

It almost has a good lesson. While the siblings are able to appreciate that they aren't "as bad as their cousins" it is unfortunate that they can find NOTHING good about their cousins. I wish it had some moral like, even if we don't get along, we can always find something good about people.

Also, it was VERY boring. So many words on each page. It really dragged. Not great pacing at all.

[skcocnaH · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was written in 1997, so there’s really no excuse for the content. I mean, the momma and poppa talked about the cousins behind their backs after they left?
Also, how that played out is nothing like what would likely happen in that kind of scenario.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is bad. Avoid it. Features kids being awful.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice illustrations, brings it up to three stars.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's better Thanksgiving books out there. You don't really need to read one about some semi-bratty kids that end up being kind of thankful for each other because they've just been around kids even brattier than themselves.

Cleanliness: see above.

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[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about Thanksgiving and appreciating each other. Buddy and Brenda aren't grateful for their family until they spend a little time with their cousins. I'm not sure that this is the best story for Thanksgiving, but it does show that we often take the ones we love for granted. Also, I noticed that the squirrels were having a vegetarian (perhaps vegan) feast, which is appropriate for squirrels. The illustrations are adorable and the narrative is fun to read aloud. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brenda and Buddy Squirrel are reminded by their papa that they should be more thankful for what they have. Brenda and Buddy can't seem to get along, but when their cousins Penny and Chuck join them for Thanksgiving dinner, Brenda and Chuck gets a whole new outlook on what being thankful means.

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book could have been shorter without losing any content. The squirrels are cute though.

[Dearborn Public Library Youth Services · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the best book I read this year to visiting groups for Thanksgiving. The illustrations are cute, but the message is a little heavy handed.