A Dusty Donkey Detour

The Dead Sea Squirrels #8

by Mike Nawrocki, Luke Séguin-Magee (Illustrator)

Merle and Pearl meet . . . a talking donkey?

Merle and Pearl are still in the clutches of their squirrelnapper. The Gomez family, along with Justin and Sadie, is in hot pursuit. After a wrong turn, they receive a hint from the most unlikely of sources.

Meanwhile, Merle and Pearl are having their own adventure, riding a donkey from Bethlehem to Nazareth under the watchful eye of their abductor. As usual, their hijinks bring laughter and a few surprises—this time in the form of new friends who are also animals. And they can talk!

Will Merle and Pearl finally be rescued? Everyone learns that with God, all things are possible.

Genres: Childrens, Christian Fiction, Animals, Chapter Books, Christian

125 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2021

About the author

As co-creator of Veggie Tales, co-founder of Big Idea Entertainment, and the voice of the beloved Larry the Cucumber, Mike Nawrocki has been dedicated to helping parents pass on wholesome values to their kids through storytelling for over two decades. Mike currently serves as the artist in residence at Lipscomb University, where he is also pursuing an MFA in writing and directing for film. The Dead Sea Squirrels is Mike's first children's book series, which he has been delighted to write from the home he shares with his wife, Lisa, and their two children in Franklin, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked and highly recommend it!

[Sydney Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike, you did it again. I truly learned a lot about the geography and culture of Israel as it relates to the Bible

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are reading this series for my daughters 1st grade homework. This one took us a bit longer due to the business of the holidays and, winter break. This book follows the squirrels back to Jerusalem, and Michael and his dad hot in their trail. They meet a talking donkey along the way named Dusty, and once again the book ends on a cliff hanger as per all the others in the series. This book is actually one of, if not the longest we’ve read so far. My kids still enjoy the books and are looking forward to the next book.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael and his dad are trailing Reuben and Merle and Pearl trying to save the squirrels. The episodic nature of this story makes it so that there is no real development in this story.

[Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series so much

[Library Lady Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are fine. Clean and sometimes funny. But they always end on a cliffhanger, and that annoys me.

[Kyle Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had some great trivia about the Holy Lands that I wished I had known sooner.

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic entry in this series. That cliffhanger man. I hope Michael and the gang find them.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. I liked the addition of the donkey, and I'm curious where we are headed. This continues to be a solid, simple, series for kids.

[Elise]

In this book, Michael and his dad travel around modern Israel. I enjoyed the tour. I learned about some historical sites and tourist attractions I didn’t know existed.