Squirrel and John Muir

by Emily Arnold McCully

An outstanding book for young naturalists Floy Hutchings, also known as Squirrel, is the daughter of the man who opened the first hotel in the Yosemite Valley in the 1860s. She has to fend for herself much of the time and is considered wild by her family and her father's guests. When the future naturalist John Muir is hired as a carpenter, Floy becomes his inquisitive shadow as he builds himself a cabin over a stream, talks to flowers, and listens to snow. Floy, determined never to grow up because she'd have to be a lady, and Muir, searching nature for a way to live free of society's expectations, are primed to find common ground. In this story set against a backdrop of watercolor paintings that vividly capture the beauty of Yosemite, Floy learns to see the world through John Muir's eyes.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Nature, Childrens, American History, Juvenile, Friendship

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2004

About the author

Emily Arnold McCully received the Caldecott Medal for Mirette on the High Wire. The illustrator of more than 40 books for young readers, she divides her time between Chatham, New York, and New York City.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet book about the relationship between a "wild" girl and a man that loves the wild. As each character learns from each other children will love the beautiful illustrations as they are taken back to the 1800s at Yosemite's beginning.

[Lara Lleverino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me want to read more about John Muir.

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: there is a page that features an illustration of a girl crouching and looking while silhouetted people of both genders change clothes behind a curtain. The text reads, "At night, Papa read Shakespeare aloud to the guests. Afterward, Floy watched them undress." I find this disturbing to include in a children's book.

Floy is very naughty and uses the words, "I hate you!" There was a little bit of redemption in the end, but no repentance.

Otherwise, it was neat to read about John Muir's experience in this place with these people. He was an interesting fellow. I like the way he looked at things.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about the adventures of Squirrel and John Muir. Squirrel and John Muir takes place in Yosemite Valley in 1868. It was there that Floy met John Muir. Floy, also called squirrel, was considered a wild child and very disruptive. John Muir gets hired to make improvements on the hotel. Squirrel becomes his little shadow. John Muir teaches Squirrel how to truly experience the nature around her. They story is based off of the adventure of the John Muir, who was considered to be a great naturalist. The illustrations done by Emily Arnold Mccully are beautiful. They give a realistic depiction of life in Yosemite Valley in 1868.

[Maggie Panning · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed this book about John Muir and the spunky young Floy Hutchings. The paintings are beautiful and it is a fun reimagining of the friendship that might have been between the two. It also shows an example of someone whose ideas and interests weren't always believed or appreciated, but he kept going.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to John Muir and Floy Hutchings in a fictional sense. I would target this towards my 3rd - 4th graders. However, if students are doing a biography on either characters, he/she would need supplemental information.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice story based on real people. It was interesting to learn about Squirrel and her life and John Muir and his methods of learning from nature. The illustrations were beautiful. However, the story didn’t really flow and felt disjointed. Also, it didn’t seem to have a story line or purpose.

[Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read for burgeoning naturalists with beautiful watercolor, but a few silly (antiquated) passages I didn't love for my toddler boy. But we used it as a jumping point to talk about the natural world.

[Hashim · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/29/18 Read with Calvin, Lincoln, Naomi, Julia, & Simon

[Norkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story, we loved the back story of Muir. We knew he was a famous naturalist but learned more about it with the Yosemite and Sierra Club foundings!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the details are fiction, but the story will leave young readers with basic information about this very interesting and dedicated man. A year or so later, they can read Lasky's biography.

author's note -- much appreciated

art: ++++

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2004 - Ferrar Straus Giroux

A good introduction to John Muir and Floy Hutchings. Great illustrations.

[Philip Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Squirrel and John Muir is based on true interactions that took place between Floy Hutchings and John Muir in Yosemite Valley in 1868. John Muir came to work for Floy's father as a hired hand and fell in love with the landscape of the area, the abundance of nature, and the tranquility. As John and Floy become friends, John begins teaching the little girl all about nature and its importance to the world. He teaches her to respect nature and value the little aspects it has to offer. When John decides to leave, Floy is saddened, but before he goes he shares one last secret with her, a place he calls "Sunnyside Bench". Though he will no longer be around to share these experiences with her, John has left a lasting impact on the little girl, and altered her appreciation for the natural world.
The events in this story have been created by the author to reiterate the interaction that took place between a young tomboy and a gentle wilderness icon, named John Muir. Though some places may be real, the plot of the story is fictional and serve only to give the reader an idea of what might have happened at the time. At the end of the book, the author provides an author's note, allowing the reader to decipher real parts of the story from fictional creations.
This story would be best applied to an elementary setting in order to introduce young readers to John Muir, an iconic historical figure who many young children can probably relate to. Discussions regarding his contributions to American history or notable accomplishments in his life would help learners understand the importance of the book. Children could also be prompted with a writing assignment on what it might be like to view the world through the eyes of John Muir. They may choose to write about a wilderness adventure of their own one day or how they appreciate nature in their own ways. The story is wonderfully written and supported by beautifully detailed paintings, a beneficial read to children of all ages.

[James Govednik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, a beautifully illustrated story about how John Muir came to Yosemite and a family who lived there, including an intriguing little girl named Floy, who spent her days exploring nature's wonders--and sometimes antagonizing visitors, including John Muir, who ends up being hired on by Floy's father to help manage a hotel at the site. The book opens at a time when the wonders of Yosemite were not widely known, and Floy's family operates a fledgling tourist business. The story continues as Muir uses his spare time to explore the valley and identify evidence of this then-radical theory that Yosemite valley was formed by glaciers. The illustrations capture not only the beauty of Yosemite but also the interactions between Floy and John Muir. Additional details about the early tourists to the valley, and young Floy's unpredictable nature, help fill out the story. The author's notes at the end add valuable insight to the story. Yosemite purists might not like some of the author's choices, but overall this is a great book to share the wonder--and history--of one of our great natural wonders. I would recommend this book for readers age 7-9.

[NS - Cami Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two real characters, appropriate for 5-8th grade. John Muir and Floy Hutchings were two nature lovers. John believed that glaciers carved Yosemite, and when they met in 1968, Floy was just a wild kid chasing lizards and marking her territory with late excavations in the forests that would have her father worried to death. John was a man that needed to be free and follow his own path. A free spirit, he would climb tall trees during thunderstorms, and scale vertical walls to look out on the horizon. Floy's father had a bed and breakfast in the mountains and when John came looking for work with his craftsman skills, Floy's father knew his prayers had been answered in regards to needing help with construction. Father would eventually become annoyed that John was spending too much time in the wilderness, and writing wild scientific accounts about how Yosemite was formed by ice. He would eventually publish his writings, and the tourist attraction would soar when scientists finally agreed that the land was indeed shaped by ice. Floy would never leave the mountains, which she really never cared to anyway, but would meet a tragic end rock climbing at the age of seventeen.

[Edward Creter · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Muir was a real person (to quote from the Lone Ranger cartoons of the 80s). He was a naturalist who firmly believed in nature and our place in it, whether we as Christians want it or not. in the late 19th century he wrote books that typified his stance on nature and his battle against the Western expansion which, for better or worse, came anyway with no room for dissidents. This book is a what-if on his life and how he reached a 7-year-old girl nicknamed Squirrel, since she was a tomboy by nature, American by birth...and possibly savior of John Muir by accident...or did he save her? I'm nor sure we can ever know for sure, but the book details their relationship with affection and care, minus the pedophilia of more adult best-sellers that glory in such things. It's nicely done, but things in the book worry me, like its stance on nature as an alternative to knowing a Loving God, or the part where Squirrel saw her family of actors in Shakespeare undress behind a lighted curtain. Done well, but I am concerned. So approach these woods with caution, and do have fun.

[Debbie Hayes-miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

CIP summary: "In the 1860's, a wild little girl nacknamed Squirrel meets John Muir, later to become a famous naturalist, when he arrives at her parents' hotel in Yosemite Valley seeking work and knowledge about the natural world."

This is a very unique look at the John Muir's early life. It is interesting to think about exploring the wildreness around Yosemite during this time period. It is also fascinating to learn a little bit about the character Squirrel and her real identity.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting, though I tend to think of Squirrel as a wild child that probably could have used a bit more parental guidance than she was getting. John Muir does sound like quite the eccentric. No wonder some people had trouble taking him seriously. Brilliance and lunacy in a single package. Interesting.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction based on some real events that happened between naturalist John Muir and a young girl and her family in Yosemite Valley in the 1860s; directly before the time John Muir started to gain notoriety for his theories on glaciers forming Yosemite’s landscape. This is a sweet tale of an unlikely friendship and also showed Muir’s unique approach to studying nature.

[Patricia Willers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to read to my niece when she came to visit California for the first time. It was the perfect book for the start of a California road trip and left all of us in the car (mostly adults) thinking dreamily of hiking the Yosemite Valley. I'll definitely use it again in my ESL classroom.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful portrayal of John Muir's time with the Hutchings family in Yosemite in the late 1860s. While not precise historical fiction, the characterization of John Muir and his delight in the natural world is wonderful, and gives you a feeling for who he was as he became the great naturalist and advocate for wilderness.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about adventure and learning to appreciate nature. It is based on real characters and actual landmarks but the story itself is fiction. I think this book is good for third grade due to some of the vocabulary.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love to see, learn about the Yosemite Valley before many people settled there. John Muir is an interesting character.

[Brooke]

I would use this book when talking about the outdoors and America's great parks. Neat story

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a young girl that spends most of her time outside exploring nature. Her father opened the first hotel in the Yosemite. I recommend this book for older students.

[Debrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful illus. of Yosemite and the nature-loving John Muir’s friendship with a little tomboy

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictionalized account based on the life and work of naturalist, John Muir.