The Leaf Thief

Squirrel and Bird

by Alice Hemming, Nicola Slater (Illustrator)

A brilliantly funny picture book about seasons, written by Alice Hemming and illustrated by Nicola Slater. Squirrel is so cross. Yesterday there were loads of beautiful leaves on his tree, but today? Today some are missing and Squirrel is convinced that someone has stolen them... there's a leaf thief on the loose! Join Squirrel on a mission to find the culprit, and meet so many fun animals on the way, while you find out how the world takes on different colours as the months pass by. A laugh-out-loud book about the changing seasons, with extra information in the back for especially curious minds Perfect as a companion reader to children learning about seasons in school A brilliant picture book that explores feelings, moods and times where we feel out of control

Genres: Picture Books, Autumn, Animals, Childrens, Nature, Storytime, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2020

About the author

Alice Hemming is the author of over fifty books for children, including the bestselling Dark Unicorns series (Scholastic), and picture book, The Leaf Thief with illustrator Nicola Slater (Scholastic 2020), which has sold across the world and been translated into nineteen languages. Alice lives in Hertfordshire, UK with her husband and two children, and works in a writing shed at the top of her garden.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads]

"What a wonderful time of year! I am snug in my nest with a belly full of hazelnuts and the sun is shining through my leaf canopy ... Wait a MINUTE! One of my leaves is MISSING!"

Squirrel is obsessively in love with his tree - counting all of the beautiful red, gold and orange leaves - but when one goes missing...let's just say he gets a little unhinged.

"BIRD!"
"What is the matter?"
"SOMEONE STOLE MY LEAF!"

Bird tries to explain that no one is stealing Squirrel's leaves but...Squirrel isn't so sure. Maybe mouse took them? Or Woodpecker? Well, no matter what, Squirrel will find out who this leaf thief is - or so help him!

What a fabulously nutty book! I really enjoyed Squirrel's high-energy-madness as he tried to figure out who stole the leaves every night - it paired really well with Bird's calm explanations regarding the supposedly thievery.

I really liked the bright, bold colors and the kind of sketchy-style of drawings. I thought the images did a great job of communicating Squirrel's zaniness.

Overall, this was a fun and quirky book and I really want to read more by this author!

[Darla]

Squirrel is noticing something suspicious. He knows every leaf in his tree and now a leaf is missing. He calls for help from his friend Bird. After several days of leaves diminishing, they see that the wind is making the leaves fall off the trees. It is Fall, after all. This happens every year. Included at the end of the book is additional information about the season of "The Real Leaf Thief." Love the charming and whimsical illustrations by Nicola Slater (Charlie Chooses). Bird is reading about bowling when interrupted by Squirrel. Fellow forest friend Mouse has a leaf boat. Squirrel does yoga and takes a bath in a big nut shell to relax. And more. . . Enjoy!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Jabberwocky and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Super cute book about friendship, problem solving, and fall changes. Squirrel's good friend Bird helps him solve the mystery of his missing leaves. -Elizabeth H.

[Tina]

Oh this is a perfect read-aloud to a child! The pictures are bright and beautiful and inviting. The printed words are big and bold. Perfect to capture a child’s attention while reading and pointing out things. Squirrel loves his yard filled with colourful red, gold and orange leaves. It’s that wonderful time of year but when he wakes from a nap where have they all gone? It’s cute when the “culprit” is revealed. At the end of the story there is more information about the changes in the Autumn season. Lots to discuss with little ones.

Thank-you to the Richmond Hill Public Library for my copy.
2020 Publication

[catjohmar]

als tante zijnde moet je je inlezen

[Avada Kaddavra]

Sehr niedliches Buch, aber noch etwas schwierig für meine Jungs😁
Trotzdem sehr lustig und unterhaltsam, auch für die vorleser*in😄

[Matti Karjalainen]

Alice Hemmingin "Lehtirosvo" (Mäkelä, 2019) on humoristinen kuvakirja oravasta, jolle hissukseen valkenee kuka varastaa lehtiä hänen puustaan. Vai valkeneeko sittenkään? Täsmäkirja syksyisille satutunneille!

[Joana Alves | Juca Mindscape]

Um livro super fofo e cativante para as crianças, a pequena cá de casa adora e é ideal para esta altura do outono! 🍂

[Juliska]

Is cute

[Melissa]

A very cute children’s book explaining Fall with a squirrel who tries to find missing leaves from his tree.

[Milton Public Library]

Squirrel loves the red, orange, and yellow trees in his tree. He loves them so much that as soon as one goes missing, he recruits is friend bird to help him look for it. Bird assures squirrel, as he does every year, that no one has stolen his leaf and that this happens every year come Autumn. This book is a fun look at the change of seasons between Autumn and Winter. My daughter had fun watching squirrel freak out only to realize in the end that losing leaves is natural...every year. The book itself was beautifully illustrated, with captivating scenes. As an adult, I loved that there was an entire back story for bird hidden in the illustrations. Parents and teachers will both find this book educational with some pages at the end reserved for explaining why leaves change colors and fall to the ground. A delightful read!

Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Tessa]

Oh wat een heerlijk prentenboek! Eekhoorn telt zijn prachtige blaadjes; rood, goud, oranje. Maar dan ontdekt hij dat een blaadje is gestolen! Hij roept vogel om hulp, maar die vertelt hem dat het heel normaal is om blaadjes te verliezen in deze tijd van het jaar.
Eekhoorn is er niet gerust op en de volgende ochtend zijn er nog meer blaadjes gestolen! Wie doet dat nou?!

Een prachtig geïllustreerd prentenboek over bomen die hun mooie rode, goude en oranje blaadjes verliezen in de herfst. En dan dat einde, hardop gelachen om de laatste bladzijde.
Leuk inzetbaar om te praten over seizoensverwisseling !

[Matt Lillywhite]

I'm going to keep this review short and sweet.

How could I not give an adorable book with a squirrel on the front five stars? It's heartwarming, funny, and worth reading if you have kids/young siblings. Or, if you just want something quick to read, it's worth every second of your time.

Five stars.

[Jess | thegreeneyedreader]

cute, sort of.

I like that it teaches toddlers about wind, but the wording is choppy. It’s not sing-song rhyme-like, nor does it especially flow well. The dialogue is just a bit choppy sounding to me and awkward. The story itself (as a concept) is quite good, but I wish the illustration of the squirrel looked more like a squirrel in all of the pictures. Some of them would be hard for a toddler to look at and know that it’s depicting a squirrel.

[Patrizia]

Albo illustrato, a tema autunnale, molto carino e istruttivo con illustrazioni coloratissime.
Il protagonista è uno scoiattolo goffo, divertente e molto spassoso.
I bambini lo ameranno e gli adulti lo apprezzeranno.
Ho letto che questo libricino fa parte di una serie di albi legati alle quattro stagioni.
Sono curiosa di sfogliare anche gli altri.
Acquisto consigliato.

[debbicat *made of stardust*]

very cute! With the first day of fall coming Sept 21, we were in the mood for a fall read, even tho it is 97 degrees in Mobile, AL this week. (2022). Sigh...

This has characters you love and beautiful illustrations. Add it to your shelf for fall reads. Very enjoyable.

[AMY]

A frantic squirrel is on the case trying to figure out who has stolen his leaf. He questions every animal he can find and is completely stressed out by its disappearance. The illustrations are very cute and whimsical. Kids will enjoy the progression of the investigation. It is super funny. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.

[Amber]

Preschool and school-age
I am the squirrel!

[Aija Puriņa]

Alise Heminga, Nikola Sleitere "Lapu zaglis" 🍁

Tik ļoti superīga mazo bērnu grāmatiņa! Varbūt lasījām nedaudz par agru - vajadzēja pagaidīt RUDENI, bet tas nekas!

Šai grāmatai ir tik skaists vāks, ilustrācijas ir manā gaumē, bet teksts īss, konkrēts, asprātīgs un tik forši lasāms priekšā! 😉 Var pamuļķoties un padauzīties arī vecāki, to lasot un iejūtoties gan satrauktā vāverēna, gan zinošā putniņa lomās!😆 Šādas bērnu grāmatas man ārkārtīgi patīk!

Stāsts ir par vāveri, kura domā, ka kāds no viņa meža draugiem zog viņas koka lapas. Bet ir iestājies rudens, un īstais zaglis ir kāds cits... 💨

Grāmatā ir strukturēts stāsts, humors, pat pārsteiguma momentiņš, un, kas arī ļoti svarīgi, mazajiem lasītājiem tiek paskaidrots lapkritis! 🍁

Noteikti lasiet šo smukumu un mīlīgumu! Piefiksējiet šo, lai rudenī tā ir pa ķērienam! P.S. Pat mana 9+ dāma iedeva 5🌟. 😉

Šajā sērijā ir vēl citas grāmatas, ceru, ka arī tās tiks iztulkotas.

[Katie Reilley]

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing an early copy to read and review.

This vibrant, hilarious picture book teaches young readers about autumn and adapting to change. Squirrel loves the colorful leaves in his tree. One day he notices that one of his leaves is missing! He teams up with Bird to discover who the leaf thief could be.

The magic of autumn is beautifully captured on each page as readers join Squirrel on his forest adventure. Perfect for a discussion of change and the feelings it may cause. Back matter includes an explanation of the changes that happen with the seasons.

Published in August 2021.

[Amanda French]

Text-to-class
This book is an adorable way for a primary approach to science and the changing seasons. The curious way the squirrel uses his prior knowledge of what it looks like when something is gone or missing is very similar to how a small child would rationalize some thing like this. I would read this with a primary class and periodically break from the story to hypothesize (also touching on the scientific method) on what might happen next. We would talk about the leaves, the changing weather, the turn of the year and then eventually the snowfall. After, maybe a coloring page on what the trees and leaves look like in the spring or the fall, they could choose the season and color accordingly. Cute story!

[Kinga (oazaksiazek)]

"Złodziej liści" to zabawna historia wiewiórki, której ktoś kradnie liście z drzewa. Jednego dnia są, kolejnego już ich nie ma. Jak to się dzieje? Do czego doprowadzi ta sytuacja?

Piękne, kolorowe ilustracje i mądry tekst idealny na jesień.

Polecam!

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance]

What is happening to the leaves? Squirrel is horrified to see that his leaves are missing. What is going on?

A light first introduction to autumn.

[Bree Hill]

Perfect little fall read

[Angela]

My kids LOVE this book.

[Shanna]

This one was a funny way to introduce autumn to little ones.

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 171

[Holly]

did I read this just to boost my Goodreads goal? Yes. Was it freaking adorable anyway? Yes.

[Caron]

Toddler Book Review
Me: “What did you think of the book?”
3 yo: “It was really great”
Me: “What did you like about it?”
3 yo: “I want to play with the squirrel but give it one but so it doesn’t bite me.”

[kanda]

my first graders approved — "that was a good story"

[Kate Willis]

Adorable illustrations and worldbuilding. 🧡 I too get confused by seasons, Squirrel. The ending almost made me laugh aloud.