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, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Nature, Humor, Fiction

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

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Joana Alves | Juca Mindscape · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Avada Kaddavra · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Juliska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is cute

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preschool and school-age
I am the squirrel!

[Katie Reilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

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) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect little fall read

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids LOVE this book.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 171

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Caron · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Kate Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Sophie - Kinderboekentips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit was een favoriet voorleesboek tijdens de Gi-Ga-Groen Kinderboekenweek! Tip ook voor thema seizoenen.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious book about a squirrel who thinks someone is STEALING his PRECIOUS leaves. Guaranteed a lot of laughs~


I read this book in Dutch but just have to share my feelings on this hilarious book with my English readers! Because I would HIGHLY recommend this book. I laughed so much.

Meet Squirrel. He is not exactly the smartest as we will soon see. He loves his tree and he loves the leaves on his tree. He is especially enamoured by their pretty autumn colour! But then, DISASTER, one disappears and chaos happens. Yep, the older readers here will know what is happening and will have a laugh at how Squirrel is all flustered over that leaf. Like, boo, it is the season! I loved that he had a friend he could go to (loved his little house btw) and who tries to explain it to Squirrel (with increasing frustration which was very relatable). Which leads to even more chaos as Squirrel apparently just has a sieve in his head. XD Yes, really. Because throughout the book we see Squirrel in complete chaos and not just that, he is also accusing EVERYONE of stealing his LEAF. How dare they! Doesn’t matter that bird tries to convince him that no, that didn’t do that. I was just laughing so hard each time we flipped that page and a new chaotic thing happened. This squirrel!

Given how he was each time I really thought this was his very first autumn… but if we have to go by what bird said near the end… he has been through more autumns… sieve in his head, a big sieve.
The ending, OMG, those last two pages were just perfect. I loved that the author went for this, I was just rolling off my chair laughing. This was just the best!

I absolutely LOVED the art! It was so pretty and the colours were just wonderful. The pages just popped!

All in all, a fun book about the changing of seasons and what happens then, you will laugh yourself silly reading it!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author NAILED the personality of a squirrel, the hyper, busy, worried and forgetful mode of looking at the world. Good old bird next door is there to sort it all out. Fabulous illustrations by Nicola Slater, and a wonderful author's note in the back (how clever to use the endpaper!) gives information about how and why trees lose their leaves.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooray, a new funny, fall picture book on the block! Squirrel is appalled that "someone is stealing his leaves" (even though the leaves are just naturally falling and blowing away). I love the dialogue/speech bubbles back and forth with exasperated bird--and the hilarious last page when "someone stole the grass!". Will be a popular seasonal title, and I'm sure will be snatched up by storytellers.

[Villain E · Rating 2 out of 5]

A squirrel wonders who is stealing all the leaves off his tree. A bird explains to him about autumn, and says "We went over this last year." Naiveté is one thing, but I'm not a fan of characters who are stupid while the characters around them are condescending.