What do you think?
Rate this book
Squirrel Mother
by Megan Kelso
The Squirrel Mother is Megan Kelso's second collection of graphic short stories, all of which originally appeared in various magazines and anthologies between 2000 and 2005. Kelso's work is characterized by subject matter that fits roughly into two disparate camps: personal and semi-autobiographical stories that draw heavily on the details of her childhood and adolescence, and stories about the idea of America and American history, such as a trilogy of short pieces about Alexander Hamilton. The Squirrel Mother features 15 stories, including two stories, "Meow Face" and "Aide de Camp" done especially for this volume.
The Squirrel Mother is Megan Kelso's second collection of graphic short stories, all of which originally appeared in various magazines and anthologies between 2000 and 2005. Kelso's work is characterized by subject matter that fits roughly into two disparate camps: personal and semi-autobiographical stories that draw heavily on the details of her childhood and adolescence, and stories about the idea of America and American history, such as a trilogy of short pieces about Alexander Hamilton. The Squirrel Mother features 15 stories, including two stories, "Meow Face" and "Aide de Camp" done especially for this volume.
136 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2006
1 person is currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Megan Kelso
19 books24 followersShe graduated in 1994 from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother. She was the editor of the female cartoonist anthology, Scherherazade: Stories of Love, Treachery, Mothers, and Monsters (published by Soft Skull Press). Among many other publications, Kelso had a story (which she co-created with Ron Rege) in SPX 2004.
She received two Ignatz Awards in 2002, for Outstanding Artist (for Artichoke Tales #1 and her story in Non #5) and Outstanding Minicomic (for Artichoke Tales #1).
From April 1 to September 9, 2007, Kelso published a weekly comic strip in The New York Times Magazine titled Watergate Sue. She is currently completing her Artichoke Tales graphic novel for Fantagraphics Books.
Kelso has also created work for several magazines, including the now-defunct Tower Records' Pulse Magazine.
Kelso is married and lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle, Washington.
Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother. She was the editor of the female cartoonist anthology, Scherherazade: Stories of Love, Treachery, Mothers, and Monsters (published by Soft Skull Press). Among many other publications, Kelso had a story (which she co-created with Ron Rege) in SPX 2004.
She received two Ignatz Awards in 2002, for Outstanding Artist (for Artichoke Tales #1 and her story in Non #5) and Outstanding Minicomic (for Artichoke Tales #1).
From April 1 to September 9, 2007, Kelso published a weekly comic strip in The New York Times Magazine titled Watergate Sue. She is currently completing her Artichoke Tales graphic novel for Fantagraphics Books.
Kelso has also created work for several magazines, including the now-defunct Tower Records' Pulse Magazine.
Kelso is married and lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle, Washington.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
March 19, 2010
I feel almost guilty giving this only one star. The author obviously thought these stories were very meaningful, and comic book or graphic novel art work takes a long time regardless of how sparse it looks, this just didn't do it for me.
The first story made me think. It was sad, and it had resonance. Who can't sympathize with someone who has lost their dreams, or even the ability to chase them. I read the first and was really excited to read the rest. Too bad, because it was the only one I cared anything for.
A few of the stories I just didn't understand. I felt a little stupid at first, again, because I had such high expectations due to the first story, but as I read further, I realized these stories probably had a lot of meaning for the author, but it seemed to be too personal a meaning. They just aren't written for an audience. Well...at least not this audience.
The first story made me think. It was sad, and it had resonance. Who can't sympathize with someone who has lost their dreams, or even the ability to chase them. I read the first and was really excited to read the rest. Too bad, because it was the only one I cared anything for.
A few of the stories I just didn't understand. I felt a little stupid at first, again, because I had such high expectations due to the first story, but as I read further, I realized these stories probably had a lot of meaning for the author, but it seemed to be too personal a meaning. They just aren't written for an audience. Well...at least not this audience.
August 13, 2010
I loved the artwork in this book, but I felt like many of the stories themselves must have been an esoteric underground manifesto or something, because I'm wasn't really clear on the point. Of course, I guess having a point doesn't always have to be the point in a story - and if that's the case, these were brilliant.
I especially liked the Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson duel story. That was classic.
Even though the book is nowhere near obscene or offensive, I felt like it was oozing with sex. I'm not sure what it was that gave it this aura - if aura is the right word.
Maybe my favorite part of the book was the pricing on the back cover: $16.95 US/more in Canada. That struck me as pretty funny.
I especially liked the Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson duel story. That was classic.
Even though the book is nowhere near obscene or offensive, I felt like it was oozing with sex. I'm not sure what it was that gave it this aura - if aura is the right word.
Maybe my favorite part of the book was the pricing on the back cover: $16.95 US/more in Canada. That struck me as pretty funny.
August 2, 2012
[Note: She's not talking about poison.]
I'm pretty sure that most anthologies deveIop as a platform for a couple great shorter works and then other stories are included to pad the length and justify a bound compilation. That padding, to my mind, generally just gets in the way and diminishes from my overall enjoyment of the collection. Still, I can see why a consumer might be more inclined to shell out for a book of nine stories of varying quality than for one of just three solid efforts. Even at this, the highest point of civilized sophistication and critical knowledge,* consumers still mistake quantity for quality. I wanted to take a break from reviewing collections of short works because I felt like I was essentially saying the same thing over and over again: "This anthology was a mix of better stories and worse stories. I would have liked it more had the balance tipped more toward better stories and I would have liked it less had the balance tipped more toward worse stories." That's my general feeling toward collections and if I got bored writing that over and again, I was certain that you were bored reading it.
The problem is that 1) that meant I wasn't talking about books that deserved to be talked about and 2) a worthwhile review (to me) is less about whether something is good, okay, or bad and more a discussion of other aspects of a work. And so, are there things to talk about in regard to Megan Kelso's The Squirrel Mother beyond the fact that some of the stories are better than others? Yes, there are. So let's do that.
While The Squirrel Mother is mostly concerned with small pericopes drawn from the lives of young women and girls, far and away my favourite segment was a series of short reflections recapitulating the life and times of Alexander Hamilton. In the first, a girl explores in an essay the interactions and relationship between Hamilton and James Madison, focusing on their collaboration on "Publius." And when I say she explores their relationship, I really just mean that she ships them hard. It's an amusing way to get across the dynamic of their work and eventual falling out. In the next story another girl (or perhaps the same, but older), her indignation inflamed by a teacher's earlier recountment of Hamilton's death from dueling Vice President Burr, launches on the subway into a telling of the Duel That Should Have Happened: Hamilton vs. Jefferson at twenty paces. So exciting is her proposition that her fellow commuters exit the station to reenact that very scene. And in the third and final act in the series, an old woman presents a speech detailing Hamilton's friendship with Washington and Washington's recruitment of a young Hamilton during the Revolutionary War. Enlisted as an aide-de-camp, Hamilton quickly began to influence Washington with his political and strategic acumen. In each of these stories, the narrating female blurs the line between admiration and infatuation, turning appreciation into romance in a charming sort of way. Kelso's Hamiltonian tales are the high-point of the collection and may function as sort of a proto-Beaton treatment of the historical. I would absolutely read an entire book by Kelso, devoted to Hamilton and written in this manner: humourous, educational, engaging—saying perhaps as much about Kelso as it does about Hamilton himself.
[Oh, Alex. You're basically right out of a Decemberists song]
The rest of her stories (I say that as if they are all cut from similar cloth, which isn't accurate) all demonstrate a careful attention to the mundane moments that constitute the grand panorama of a person's life. I obviously preferred some of these stories to others, but recognizable in each was a certain kind of existential patience, an ability to focus on that which might otherwise escape attention. One wordless piece extends only so long as the duration of a family slideshow. Each page is comprised of four equally sized panels, one of which is a Kodachrome slide featuring some aspect of the family vacation. The intervening three panels may depict all the uncaptured moments to which each slide alludes in the imaginations/memories of the family members. These are a sweet several pages, and while the story's purpose may be slight, it's a lyrical presentation and novel idea. Another story, of two girls learning to waltz, invokes images of 2001: A Space Odyssey as a mother retreats happily to her imagination. A highlight of Kelso's storytelling in that piece is in her drawn exploration of how in a waltz the dancers should find themselves within the flow of music as if in a gentle river. It's a beautiful use of visual metaphor.
One curiosity is the book's title: The Squirrel Mother. It's also the name of the collection's first story, which is I presume the reason the book inherited the title. I'm rarely sure of the wisdom of naming a collection after its first story (or even of naming it after a particular story from a collection). My favourite short story collection, Murakami's Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is also named for its initial story and that has always bothered me. The story is not indicative of what else fills that book. It's not representative and it doesn't relate. Though they're lesser collections, I much prefer titles such as After the Quake (also by Murakami) and Nocturnes (by Ishiguro). These are indicators of what awaits the reader, clues as to what lurks within the books' pages. Choosing a name for a collection is difficult, of course, but rewards I think both the author and the reader, giving a better hook for approaching and understanding the works collected. This is really a trivial complaint and doesn't affect my opinion of Kelso's book save for in the least consequential of ways. I was just disappointed that 1) "Squirrel Mother" was far from my favourite story here collected and 2) it wasn't indicative of some of the great pieces that Kelso elected to include.
Camping sucks, ammirite?As mentioned, The Squirrel Mother, like the vast majority of anthologies is a mix of strong and weak stories. Save for the rambunctious, exciting Alexander Hamilton bits (which really won my heart), Kelso's stories seem quiet, reflective pieces more intended to invoke a mood, a feeling, or an era than to pursue any great narrative purpose. Some readers will enjoy and some won't. It pays to be aware of what kind of a reader you are before you choose whether to approach Kelso's work. If you need closure and dislike a story that abruptly ends without resolution, then The Squirrel Mother may likely only frustrate you. If you enjoy spending a little time among characters with whom you'll never share more than a transient acquaintance, then The Squirrel Mother may be just the book to take in over lunch one day. If you like Alexander Hamilton at all, then Kelso's book demands a place on your shelf.**
Notes
* I'm being funny here. While I think that in many ways criticism has access to a wider breadth of theory and critical tools than at any other point in recognized history, critics are still just people who are swayed by their biases and hampered by their ignorances. And consumers still regard critics with suspicion, aware that for all their pronouncements, critics are just as governed by their tastes as consumers are—and the average consumer is more aware of the fact that tastes don't reflect any objective aesthetic rule.
** The Hamilton stuff is that good.
_____________________
[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
March 3, 2008
This collection of short graphic stories is really bad. I don't think I can come up with anything good to say about it--from design to art to story, I've got to pan it across the boards. What irritated me the most was the utter lack of attention to layout. One of the biggest boons of using a graphic novel style is being able to capture the viewer's gaze in an organic way. This artist's style is more suited to the Sunday comics than a book.
(oooh, burn!)
(oooh, burn!)
July 12, 2010
Never was much of a comic book fan. Not much familiarity with graphic novels. Though I DID like Ms. Keslo's illustrations I just didn't "get" much of the content. I mean. I "got" it, but I seemed to be missing somethin; like when you look at a piece of art work and you know the artist is very skilled, but you just don't get it.
The cover blurb compares her short stories to those of Charles Baxter and Alice Munro. I guess someone thinks she's in with the big shots. Here's one of them:
From Leroy Douresseaux:
The Squirrel Mother is a collection of cartoon short stories (graphic short stories?) by cartoonist, mini-comics creator, and comic book self-publisher, Megan Kelso. The stories were published between 2000 and early 2006 in various publications. The stories focus on girls and young women, and most of them deal with themes of abandonment, creativity, expression, identity, and also body image issues.
They aren't tales of solitary people; Kelso delves into intricate interpersonal relationships that she sets in complex social situations, arguably the kind of settings mostly unfamiliar to American mainstream comics. Does that alone make the book automatically special? No, Kelso builds the success of The Squirrel Mother upon the execution of her scenarios.
In the title story, two single mothers struggle with their obligations to their children as these mothers dream of what could been in terms of their own personal enrichment and creative expression. More important than the simple outcome of this tale is Kelso's ability to visualize not just the characters, plot, and setting, but also the intricacies of the narrative: childhood ignorance and innocence, frustration and exhaustion, or the sometimes overwhelming weight that sits upon adult shoulders, slowly crushing the potential for personal happiness.
As one reviewer said, this is an understanding of visual metaphors, or even symbolism and allegory. It's the skill to accurately tell the story in pictures the way authors try to tell rich stories using words. Now, any storyteller knows (or should know) that his audience will take parts or the whole story and make it his own - often conflicting with the intentions of the storyteller. However, if the storyteller wants the audience to believe, feel, think, or know certain ideas, notions, or truths about the text, its up to her to clearly communicate that.
megankelso02.jpg
A sample from Watergate Sue
With Kelso, there are no tricks or cuteness. She knows that whatever we learn, we learn it by what we see on the page. Her work is honest, and though we might have to work to figure things out, we know that this is substance over style. Kelso's motivation is to tell stories and to communicate with her audience. For me, it's clear what Kelso's saying, for the most part, and I have at least a good idea of what she wants me to grasp.
In what I consider a bonus, there is a 17-page, three-story suite with Alexander Hamilton as the central figure. These stories succinctly get to the heart of our country's long-running feud between those who want a strong central government and those who believe in a union in which the states wield ultimate power. An entertaining, fresh, and lively view of history, this trio is just one more reason why The Squirrel Mother stands out as a remarkable short story collection.
The Squirrel Mother is available directly from the publisher's website, fantagraphics.com. It's also available from online booksellers (Barnes and Noble's website still lists it as available). And if your local comic shop and Diamond Distributors wanted to, they could get you a copy.
Visit Ms. Kelso at girlhero.com
The cover blurb compares her short stories to those of Charles Baxter and Alice Munro. I guess someone thinks she's in with the big shots. Here's one of them:
From Leroy Douresseaux:
The Squirrel Mother is a collection of cartoon short stories (graphic short stories?) by cartoonist, mini-comics creator, and comic book self-publisher, Megan Kelso. The stories were published between 2000 and early 2006 in various publications. The stories focus on girls and young women, and most of them deal with themes of abandonment, creativity, expression, identity, and also body image issues.
They aren't tales of solitary people; Kelso delves into intricate interpersonal relationships that she sets in complex social situations, arguably the kind of settings mostly unfamiliar to American mainstream comics. Does that alone make the book automatically special? No, Kelso builds the success of The Squirrel Mother upon the execution of her scenarios.
In the title story, two single mothers struggle with their obligations to their children as these mothers dream of what could been in terms of their own personal enrichment and creative expression. More important than the simple outcome of this tale is Kelso's ability to visualize not just the characters, plot, and setting, but also the intricacies of the narrative: childhood ignorance and innocence, frustration and exhaustion, or the sometimes overwhelming weight that sits upon adult shoulders, slowly crushing the potential for personal happiness.
As one reviewer said, this is an understanding of visual metaphors, or even symbolism and allegory. It's the skill to accurately tell the story in pictures the way authors try to tell rich stories using words. Now, any storyteller knows (or should know) that his audience will take parts or the whole story and make it his own - often conflicting with the intentions of the storyteller. However, if the storyteller wants the audience to believe, feel, think, or know certain ideas, notions, or truths about the text, its up to her to clearly communicate that.
megankelso02.jpg
A sample from Watergate Sue
With Kelso, there are no tricks or cuteness. She knows that whatever we learn, we learn it by what we see on the page. Her work is honest, and though we might have to work to figure things out, we know that this is substance over style. Kelso's motivation is to tell stories and to communicate with her audience. For me, it's clear what Kelso's saying, for the most part, and I have at least a good idea of what she wants me to grasp.
In what I consider a bonus, there is a 17-page, three-story suite with Alexander Hamilton as the central figure. These stories succinctly get to the heart of our country's long-running feud between those who want a strong central government and those who believe in a union in which the states wield ultimate power. An entertaining, fresh, and lively view of history, this trio is just one more reason why The Squirrel Mother stands out as a remarkable short story collection.
The Squirrel Mother is available directly from the publisher's website, fantagraphics.com. It's also available from online booksellers (Barnes and Noble's website still lists it as available). And if your local comic shop and Diamond Distributors wanted to, they could get you a copy.
Visit Ms. Kelso at girlhero.com
October 31, 2013
A collection, an odd assortment of quirky stuff from personal memoir slice of life stuff to historical stuff (!) (hey, she's interested in history). Putting these all together like a Halloween trick or treat bag rather than a thoughtful collection, seems to me…. Whimsical, I guess I would say, with varying degrees of attention to the artwork, as in some of it is sketchy, some more elaborated… colorful. So I had this idea that women would like this more than men, but at a glance it looks like a lot of women just hated it… go figure. I thought 2.5, thought I really did like a couple pieces quite a bit. It's just so uneven, such a grab bag collection….
September 16, 2007
Boy, did I not get this. Not at all. I felt like the last kid on the playground after teams had been chosen for kickball. This graphic short story collection is so far over my head that I don't feel qualified to rate it on content, but the drawings are great.
Read
December 24, 2023I...did not understand what I was supposed to take away. The level of confusion was so intense that I can't even rate it. It wouldn't feel fair. Was there some deep, world-bending message here that's hidden from my ignorant eyes, or is it a story uninterested in plebeian things like meaning? Who can say.
October 19, 2021
A bit all over the place subject wise and the illustration itself isn't great. I didn't find much cohesions in the stories. I did like elements of it but found it a bit disjointed.
July 30, 2025
Mindless drivel that I wasted 30 minutes of my life reading. I’d rather stub my pinky toe than read something like this again.
Just ugh.
Just ugh.
August 1, 2025
A bunch of small comic blurbs all put together. Wasnt a big fan.
December 5, 2018
Some stories I liked a lot some others just don't, the book makes a odd change from more poetic metaphorical short stories to story ones, so it feels very uneven, and meritocracy with hearts like whaaat??, I'm not an American but really that is just bullshit.
June 23, 2008
I bought this for my library's teen collection based someone's review, but I really wouldn't recommend this for teens. Not just for the profanity sprinkled throughout or the make out scene between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison or even the oral sex in the last story, although those are probably good reasons on their own. I just don't think teens will be interested in it, but maybe it really wasn't meant for teens.
I think I only gave the book three stars because there really wasn't any cohesiveness to the stories. They were just pretty random. I did like some of the stories, but I liked them as an adult, not as an adult thinking like a teen.
I loved the illustrations. They are definitely the bright spot of the book. Which is a good thing considering that its a comic book. :) Each of the stories has slightly different illustrations and colors, which I absolutely loved.
I think I only gave the book three stars because there really wasn't any cohesiveness to the stories. They were just pretty random. I did like some of the stories, but I liked them as an adult, not as an adult thinking like a teen.
I loved the illustrations. They are definitely the bright spot of the book. Which is a good thing considering that its a comic book. :) Each of the stories has slightly different illustrations and colors, which I absolutely loved.
June 29, 2012
Carajo, escribí una review haciéndome interesante y justificando por qué la promedio para abajo y por un tecleo de más termina borrándose todo. Otro día justificaré mi inconformidad con este librito.
October 27, 2024
The Squirrel Mother (TSM) is a collection of stories which range in subject matter from the Green River Killer to Alexander Hamilton (this short story predates the musical by a decade by the way!). A few of the stories really stand out as capturing something about the nature of humanity, how we act with each other, how this defines/redefines our outlooks.
TSM is a quick read. The pacing is good, and it gives you a lot to consider on each page. I found myself flipping back, trying to understand a new development by understanding what had come before.
TSM is a quick read. The pacing is good, and it gives you a lot to consider on each page. I found myself flipping back, trying to understand a new development by understanding what had come before.
June 17, 2017
Quick read. I read this book for a summer reading program for my library. I would agree with other reviewers I am being generous by giving one star. I didn't realize when I picked the book that it was short stories and the story lines were very confusing. There were times when I thought the story was picking up and it just ends. Do yourself a favor and choose a different book.
July 4, 2017
Overall 4 stars but there were 5 star bits in there so it gets a bump! Really glad I read this. Reading it is a bit of a slow burn. Before you know it you've been completely won over by Kelso's dexterity with tone and story...and her huge and sensitive heart.
September 1, 2017
Not sure how I feel about this one. It just had a very melancholy feel to it, and while I loved the illustrations, I was brought down by the overall sadness of many of the stories. I feel like many of the stories were unfinished, and wanted some closure.
June 16, 2017
I liked best:
Meow Face
Kodachrome
Fuck the Troops
Meow Face
Kodachrome
Fuck the Troops
October 2, 2017
What I read about is that their are alot of different comics in the book.I liked it though a little because it's about comics .
April 23, 2018
A few good stories and fantastic illustration styles. But enough of the stories made very little sense that I just dunno... didn't work for me.
Very short read.
Very short read.
July 3, 2018
Great art, but the stories are seemingly above my head.
September 1, 2018
A quick and fun read that touches something deeper than I was expecting.
March 31, 2019
🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
June 11, 2019
Sad comics
January 21, 2021
Oof. This was so boring and poorly written. I give 2☆ for the blatant expressions of self-pity due to unpleasant experiences written about, or else it'd be 1.
February 22, 2021
I don't think this book was for me.
March 25, 2021
I just did not get this at all
February 24, 2022
Interesting in parts.
Read
May 9, 2022Ideas 3 1/2 stars.
Art/execution 4 stars.
Art/execution 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews