Merle the High Flying Squirrel

by Bill Peet

Unhappy about the noise and clutter of the city, a squirrel travels west to find peace and quiet in the forest of giant trees he has heard about.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1974

About the author

Bill Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer for Disney Studios. He joined Disney in 1937 and worked on The Jungle Book, Song of the South, Cinderella, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Goliath II, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Three Caballeros, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other stories.

After successes developing short stories for Disney, Peet had his first book published, Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think this is Bill Peet’s best artwork, but I do enjoy this story of a high flying Squirrel. I have a good friend who just loved squirrels and collected salt and pepper squirrel shakers. She went to antique shops looking for them. Anyway.

Also, it is silly, but I do connect with books written in 1974, my birth year. It’s like, these are the ideas circulating when I came along. Maybe it’s sort of like the stars above and shows influences or some weird idea like that.

This squirrel lives in a city park where he is scared of everyone. One day, he decides to be brave and he listens to a group of old men and one of them talks about the redwood forest. This squirrel wants to see these trees and decides to go. He thinks he can run over the telephone wires all the way there. It gets dark and he decides to turn back when the story gets interesting.

A kite is tangled in the wires and the squirrel untangles the wires and the kite is swept up in a storm and the squirrel goes with it. (the only problem being that storms blow west to east and not the other way around, but suspension of disbelief and all that.) All kinds of crazy things happen on the way to the squirrel getting to the awesome forest.

The redwood forest is one of my favorite places on this Earth. I have been twice and if I could I would make a pilgrimage each year. The energy is so thick and full, it’s like nothing else in this world. The last time I was there, I felt like I could float through the forest on the energy of the trees. It made it giggle. You can also feel the ancient-ness there. It is unlike anywhere I have been. I would love to live on the border and be able to visit daily.

I did read this to my nephew and he thought it was a good tale. He thought the things getting the squirrel to the woods were cool and he loved once he did get there, the squirrel thought the fog was land. He loved the reveal at the end. It’s not that surprising, but it was fun to see the next page. He gave this 4 stars.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I love this book. So does my grandson, so it's appealing to a 60-year age span. From the grandson's 5-year-old perspective, it's about a squirrel's escape from a dirty city, a high-flying adventure clinging to a kite, and a conclusion finding a home high in a redwood forest. From this grandpa's 65-year-old perspective, it's about Bill Peet's trademark themes of nasty urban environments, animal pluck and courage, awesome natural landscapes and a dose of good luck. Peet's cities make me think of how R. Crumb would draw them if Crumb had come of age in the Great Depression, as Peet did. They are kin, Crumb and Peet, though for entirely different readers.

Of redwood forests, Merle the Squirrel says, "They are tall as a building and a whole lot more beautiful. And there is a great quietness about them. And I do feel mighty small out here. But not measly small like I did in the city. It is a good feeling. Just great!"

I live in a redwood forest, and my grandson is often at my house. With Merle the Squirrel, we couldn't agree more.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun Bill Peet story. Merle has always been afraid. He lives in the city, in a little park in his tree. He's scared of the people, and the cars, and scared of leaving his tree. But he loves hearing about the adventures and travels of the men on the bench. When he hears one day of the big trees in the West, some as big and tall as a skyscraper, Merle dreams of seeing them. He sets out West, but by nightfall finds that it may not be as easy as expected, and decides to turn back. Then, carried by a kite, he begins his journey quite unexpectedly.
Another great Bill Peet book, this time about escaping and overcoming your fears to pursue your dreams. A lot of fun, too, to follow Merle on his adventure.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Squirrels: they're literally everywhere you look, but how often does a wild one get to star in his own story? Like Fly, Homer, Fly, it's another story about escaping the city for the peace and quiet of more open spaces. But this one comes with the priceless imagery of Merle somehow clinging to an obliviously smiling kite for miles on end. Whenever he scolds/pleads in vain for the kite to stop and come down, I always picture angry squirrel chattering and it makes me laugh. Have I mentioned my general love for squirrels?

[Lauren]

This is a very cute book about a squirrel that is trying to find a home that he loves. He grabs a hold of a kite so that he can get to his new home quicker, but little did he know that he would be taken through a storm and end up on the other side of the country. In the end, he found the home of his dreams.
Pre-K- 3rd grades
All children would benefit and enjoy this book as entertainment.
This would be a good book for small group or whole class use.
I am unsure of a similar book to this one.
There is not any multimedia for this book.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merle's entire life has been confined to a city park, until he hears an old man talking about the western redwoods. He then embarks on a quest to find these redwoods and discovers that the feeling of smallness you get in an ancient forest is a better feeling than the smallness you experience in a big city.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merle is a bit of a coward, yet he longs to see the world. One day he hears some men talking about the great, tall trees out west and he sums up his courage to leave his safe park and go see them himself. Misadventure befalls him and he doesn't think he can make it, but a kite helps him along his way.

Nice illustrations.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would have thought a Squirrel and a Kite = High Flying Adventure.? I did. and i wasn't disappointed.

[Terryann Saint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply love everything Bill Peet ever did.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Bill Peet with a fun character and adventure.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow beginning but a "Curious George"-type development in the story helps to increase the interest level greatly.

[Ronda Sweetenberg-Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book!! teaches to never give up!!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the illustrations and found I related to Merle's desire for space and quiet. I like the adjectives used in the story and the storm Merle experiences on his journey seemed similar to the storms of life that sometimes sweep us up. We may set out with one plan and find ourselves adjusting as we go like Merle did and then find we get to our desired destination but in an unplanned way. I liked how it mentions the way Merle felt different being out West with more space and quiet. I also like how the beginning of the story focused on Merle trying to be brave. I definitely didn't expect to relate so much to a squirrel when I set out to read this picture book.

[Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There are five different books with a squirrel named Merle in the title..." I wrote in 2017
but now there are at least nine:
- Merle of Nazareth from the Dead-Sea Squirrel series by Mike Nawrocki,
- Merle the Squirrel and Monk the Punk by Charles Adkins
- Merle The Patio Squirrel and the follow-ups Merle The Patio Squirrel and the Lucky Bluebirds, Merle The Patio Squirrel and the Troublesome Puppy and Merle The Patio Squirrel and the Mischievous Mud Bath by Lynne Jones-Weiser
- the white oak squirrel, and the bobtail curse.: Merle the squirrel. by Lucas Hoad
- Merle the Squirrel and the Oak Tree Address by Katelyn Faith
- Merle The Squirrel and Phillip The Farmer by James Allen

I guess all these squirrel Merles are derived from the high-flying original Merle, drawn beautifully by Bill Peet.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. At first it reminded me of but then as I kept reading it was just slightly similar and not a dupe. A reverse dupe obviously since this book came first. But its not. Anyway, a long book, but my son and I thought it had a fun ending.

[Carmen]

A really cute story about an adventurous squirrel with fun illustrations. My kids loved it.

[Raji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Peet is delightful.