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The Adventures of Happy Jack
Happy Jack Squirrel fills his days with fun and foolishness — even while jealously guarding his winter supply of hickory nuts from his mischief-making cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and playful Striped Chipmunk.
But the bouncing, bushy-tailed creature's days of comfort and security are threatened when he wakes one morning to find his worst dream come Shadow the Weasel is close by, and Happy Jack finds himself running for his life, trying every trick he knows to get away from his enemy.
With gentle charm and good-natured humor, master storyteller Thornton Burgess once again draws youngsters into the timeless world of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows where young readers learn about nature and are encouraged to love the "lesser folk in fur and feathers."
But the bouncing, bushy-tailed creature's days of comfort and security are threatened when he wakes one morning to find his worst dream come Shadow the Weasel is close by, and Happy Jack finds himself running for his life, trying every trick he knows to get away from his enemy.
With gentle charm and good-natured humor, master storyteller Thornton Burgess once again draws youngsters into the timeless world of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows where young readers learn about nature and are encouraged to love the "lesser folk in fur and feathers."
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1918
11 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Thornton W. Burgess
824 books203 followersThornton W. (Waldo) Burgess (1874-1965), American author, naturalist and conservationist, wrote popular children's stories including the Old Mother West Wind (1910) series. He would go on to write more than 100 books and thousands of short-stories during his lifetime.
Thornton Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column.
Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywood and Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of the first Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton W. Burgess, Sr., died the same year his son was born, and the young Thornton Burgess was brought up by his mother in Sandwich. They both lived in humble circumstances with relatives or paying rent. As a youth, he worked year round in order to earn money. Some of his jobs included tending cows, picking trailing arbutus or berries, shipping water lilies from local ponds, selling candy and trapping muskrats. William C. Chipman, one of his employers, lived on Discovery Hill Road, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became the setting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the Old Briar Patch.
Graduating from Sandwich High School in 1891, Burgess briefly attended a business college in Boston from 1892 to 1893, living in Somerville, Massachusetts, at that time. But he disliked studying business and wanted to write. He moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he took a job as an editorial assistant at the Phelps Publishing Company. His first stories were written under the pen name W. B. Thornton.
Burgess married Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died only a year later, leaving him to raise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories to entertain his young son, Thornton III. Burgess remarried in 1911; his wife Fannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a home in Hampden, Massachusetts, in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife died in August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he always claimed as his birthplace and spiritual home.
In 1960, Burgess published his last book, "Now I Remember, Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist," depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich, as well as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, had published his 15,000th story. He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91 in Hampden, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 20, 2025
Happy Jack has to be one of the best of the Thornton Waldo Burgess nature library books. Whereas most of the books are short story compilations, (with each chapter representing a separate, distinct tale) and Happy Jack is more of a novel with each chapter building on the previous one. By the time of publication (1918) Harrison Cady had become the ad hoc illustrator of the Burgess nature books, more partner than employee.
I cannot pretend objectivity when it comes to these books, although I can confidently declare this one to be one of the best due to the fact that I have read more than 100 of the Burgess books. Happy Jack is a classic according to my three criteria: exceptionalism (damn strong storytelling), paradigm creating (Burgess is releasing these books at the rate of one, sometimes two a month), and longevity (written over 100 years ago).
My father read stories to my brother and I while we lay in the bottom bunk with our pajamas on. He loved the fact that these were animals in nature stories with strong moral conclusions. Each one of his books began with a dedication and the chapters were always written with the first letter of every word always capitalized. Chapter V. Happy Jack Suspects Striped Chipmunk. Chapter XX. What Was The Matter With Farmer Brown's Boy?
Minor spoiler in the fact that the boy has the mumps. That's why I remember this book so well. Both my brother and I had the mumps when dad read this book.
I cannot pretend objectivity when it comes to these books, although I can confidently declare this one to be one of the best due to the fact that I have read more than 100 of the Burgess books. Happy Jack is a classic according to my three criteria: exceptionalism (damn strong storytelling), paradigm creating (Burgess is releasing these books at the rate of one, sometimes two a month), and longevity (written over 100 years ago).
My father read stories to my brother and I while we lay in the bottom bunk with our pajamas on. He loved the fact that these were animals in nature stories with strong moral conclusions. Each one of his books began with a dedication and the chapters were always written with the first letter of every word always capitalized. Chapter V. Happy Jack Suspects Striped Chipmunk. Chapter XX. What Was The Matter With Farmer Brown's Boy?
Minor spoiler in the fact that the boy has the mumps. That's why I remember this book so well. Both my brother and I had the mumps when dad read this book.
August 25, 2024
As usual, Thornton Burgess tells an entertaining story of the life of a woodland creature. He captures the personality of his creature characters admirably, and while most would consider this (and his other stories) "children's stories", they should be quite enjoyable to most adults too. There are occasional spots where his language is a bit outdated, hardly surprising in stories that were written over 100 years ago, and being "children's stories", of course, the predators, while terrifying their prey, never actually catch anything. Yet somehow, they don't starve to death. That, I suppose, is the drawback in trying to make stories of nature palatable for children. Still, given the limitations of the genre, this is a marvelous story.
December 10, 2020
H and I have been working our way through The Adventures of Happy Jack for a looong time, but neither of us could get into it. So today we officially declared it finished so we could go find something that would make her excited about reading time again.
There's nothing wrong with Happy Jack, but Burgess's "Adventures of" books, as delightful as they are, do get a bit much after a while. They're a great read-aloud for preschoolers and younger elementary kids, but I wouldn't recommend reading them all in a row unless your particular reader is begging for them.
There's nothing wrong with Happy Jack, but Burgess's "Adventures of" books, as delightful as they are, do get a bit much after a while. They're a great read-aloud for preschoolers and younger elementary kids, but I wouldn't recommend reading them all in a row unless your particular reader is begging for them.
October 3, 2020
A lunchtime read-aloud with my son. The story was fun and interesting and had good moral lessons. All the must-haves for Charlotte Mason-type living books. My son really enjoyed the characters, and it was fun to read aloud. The language is a bit outdated (it was published 100 years ago, I believe), so I had to update it a bit as I read. Overall, a great family book!
February 29, 2020
Found a 1920 copy when going through some boxes of books and was delighted by the characters. Finding out that this and related works were the basis for The Fables of the Green Forest made my day. Loved the illustrations.
October 27, 2022
A collection of children's stories from a naturalist author that helps provide some general observations about animals in nature in a fictional setting.
October 27, 2022
Charming but not sickeningly sweet. My boys really enjoyed this one.
December 4, 2024
Happy Jack is a very optimistic gray squirrel. He has been eyeing the hickory nuts all season waiting for them to ripen. When they finally ripen he thinks he is the first one to discover them. I am sure you can imagine how amazed he was to find his cousin Chatterer the Red Squirrel (whom he did not get along with) already there storing them away! Happy Jack claims the nuts are his and says he saw them first. These are fighting words and while Chatterer and Happy Jack quarrel over the nuts their other cousin Striped Chipmunk is sneaking all the nuts to his storage for the winter. Enjoy many tales including this one in this amazing collection of stories about Happy Jack, the gray squirrel.
January 31, 2011
The Burgess Books
This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Often I would carry out stories that I read several times before, just so I could once again escape into this imaginary world of furry mischief.
I remember these books well in concept, though the specifics of most of the stories elude me. It was easily fifteen years ago when I began reading them and has been over a decade since I last picked up one of Burguess' stories to read it. That being said, this review is being written as a look back.
These stories are very simple and very fun. Of course, they are children's literature, so that's to be expected, but these stories strike me as especially so. Even still, I can remember some fascinating things I gleaned between the their covers.
For one thing, Burgess did a fantastic job of presenting the ideas of persepective and motivation in simplistic terms. For example, "The Adventures of Danny Field Mouse" would cast Old Man Coyote as a vicious, mean creature wishing to prey on Danny and his friends and family. Yet, pick up instead "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote" and you'll see that when the story is told with him as the protagonist, those pesky field mice are annoying and useful for little more than a snack. After reading both books, you're no more inclined to think of Old Man Coyote as a villian than you are to think of Danny Field Mouse as a pest that should be exterminated. (Note: This is a generic example. I do not recall if Old Man Coyote plays a role in Danny Field Mouse's story or the other way around, but this concept was presented several times. It made an impression on me.)
The only characters consistantly presented as antagonists were Farmer Brown and his boy. This would be one of the only things that I chalk up as odd, or maybe just a little "off" in these books. Humans and their influence on nature are presented as a negative influence on nature and animals - always. It's interesting to note though that while humans are seen as a negative, humanity is lauded and held up as virtuous. All of the animals take on not only human personalities but characteristics, traits, and mannerisms. From a frog with a monocle and an otter with a handkerchief tied to a stick, to a busy-body Jay and a reclusive owl who desires only to be left alone, humanity and it's traits keep cropping up.
Which would be another thing of value I feel that I saw in the Burgess books. These stories are full of social interaction and personality conflicts, even if they are charicatured more often than not. We see over and over again a working out of peace, if not harmony, between conflicting personalities. It may not always be easy to point out a scripture to reinforce the lesson implied, but social harmony is presented and more often than not, resolution is through reconciliation, forgiveness, or a similar method that is not only laudable, but distinctly Christian in action if not motivation.
All in all, the world created by Thornton W. Burgess is imaginative, innocent, fun, and educational. My reccomendation? Grab a handful from your local library, gather a group of kids as an excuse, and lose yourselves in childhood imaginations as you read aloud the stories that have captivated several generations of young readers with the antics of our furry, albiet elusively human, friends.
(Disclaimers: As I said, it has been over a decade since I actually read one of Burgess' books. As such, there may be a specific example that's a little off in this review or something that I would have noticed as an adult that my childhood memories are missing. Also, all of these books say I read them in 1998. While I'm certain I read several of them that year, I'm sure I read some before and after that date as well.)
This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Often I would carry out stories that I read several times before, just so I could once again escape into this imaginary world of furry mischief.
I remember these books well in concept, though the specifics of most of the stories elude me. It was easily fifteen years ago when I began reading them and has been over a decade since I last picked up one of Burguess' stories to read it. That being said, this review is being written as a look back.
These stories are very simple and very fun. Of course, they are children's literature, so that's to be expected, but these stories strike me as especially so. Even still, I can remember some fascinating things I gleaned between the their covers.
For one thing, Burgess did a fantastic job of presenting the ideas of persepective and motivation in simplistic terms. For example, "The Adventures of Danny Field Mouse" would cast Old Man Coyote as a vicious, mean creature wishing to prey on Danny and his friends and family. Yet, pick up instead "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote" and you'll see that when the story is told with him as the protagonist, those pesky field mice are annoying and useful for little more than a snack. After reading both books, you're no more inclined to think of Old Man Coyote as a villian than you are to think of Danny Field Mouse as a pest that should be exterminated. (Note: This is a generic example. I do not recall if Old Man Coyote plays a role in Danny Field Mouse's story or the other way around, but this concept was presented several times. It made an impression on me.)
The only characters consistantly presented as antagonists were Farmer Brown and his boy. This would be one of the only things that I chalk up as odd, or maybe just a little "off" in these books. Humans and their influence on nature are presented as a negative influence on nature and animals - always. It's interesting to note though that while humans are seen as a negative, humanity is lauded and held up as virtuous. All of the animals take on not only human personalities but characteristics, traits, and mannerisms. From a frog with a monocle and an otter with a handkerchief tied to a stick, to a busy-body Jay and a reclusive owl who desires only to be left alone, humanity and it's traits keep cropping up.
Which would be another thing of value I feel that I saw in the Burgess books. These stories are full of social interaction and personality conflicts, even if they are charicatured more often than not. We see over and over again a working out of peace, if not harmony, between conflicting personalities. It may not always be easy to point out a scripture to reinforce the lesson implied, but social harmony is presented and more often than not, resolution is through reconciliation, forgiveness, or a similar method that is not only laudable, but distinctly Christian in action if not motivation.
All in all, the world created by Thornton W. Burgess is imaginative, innocent, fun, and educational. My reccomendation? Grab a handful from your local library, gather a group of kids as an excuse, and lose yourselves in childhood imaginations as you read aloud the stories that have captivated several generations of young readers with the antics of our furry, albiet elusively human, friends.
(Disclaimers: As I said, it has been over a decade since I actually read one of Burgess' books. As such, there may be a specific example that's a little off in this review or something that I would have noticed as an adult that my childhood memories are missing. Also, all of these books say I read them in 1998. While I'm certain I read several of them that year, I'm sure I read some before and after that date as well.)
February 22, 2017
Charity loved this book.
September 29, 2020
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. I really do like this book. There are a few mentions of Mother Nature, but otherwise it’s full of good lessons. It’s a bit longer than the usual Burgess books, and it’s one of the best.
A Favourite Quote: “The very sound of Tommy's voice made Happy Jack feel better. One must feel very badly indeed not to be a little more cheerful when Tommy Tit is about. The fact is, Tommy Tit packs about so much good cheer in that small person of his, that no one can be downhearted when he is about.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “... he watched the Green Forest wake as the first Sunbeams stole through it.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Shadow had made up his mind to dine on Squirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away without trying to catch it.”
A Favourite Quote: “The very sound of Tommy's voice made Happy Jack feel better. One must feel very badly indeed not to be a little more cheerful when Tommy Tit is about. The fact is, Tommy Tit packs about so much good cheer in that small person of his, that no one can be downhearted when he is about.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “... he watched the Green Forest wake as the first Sunbeams stole through it.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Shadow had made up his mind to dine on Squirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away without trying to catch it.”
March 23, 2015
I found a sweet little 1918 copy of this at an antique store and had to buy it on account of my own Jack as well as our love for Burgess' animal stories. Delightful little read. Strong character was so central in children's literature back then. What has happened?!
September 8, 2010
Lovely book to read to an 8 year old boy at bedtime.
April 13, 2015
My eight year old has been reading these books and has LOVED them. Just as I did when I was little. They are well written and have an engaging story.
August 5, 2015
The fourth star was for nostalgia, perhaps, but still. See http://www.eatreadandbemommy.com/2015... for more!
December 11, 2015
very good.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews