Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. With its unswerving inclusion of predators, habitat destruction and territorial conflict, this novel could have grown dark instead, it is funny and exuberant.įour misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.Īs readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr.
Humorous footnotes and direct addresses add to the fun, as in: “To squirrels, ‘Are you nuts?’ is a combination of ‘Have you lost your mind?’ and ‘You remind me of the most wonderful thing I can think of.’ ” Adult readers will recognize traces of Watership Down, Beatrix Potter and even the work of cartoonist Gary Larson, but who knew until this book that red squirrels speak with cockney accents? (Or, more realistically, that squirrel homes are called “dreys”?) Strong characterizations carry readers through the episodic adventure.
The narrator frequently weaves tidbits of natural science, ecology and philosophy, as well as notes about human behavior, into each short, action-packed chapter. However, his friends TsTs and Chai, sure Jed is alive, bravely follow a trail of “buzzpaths” and “frozen spiderwebs”-utility lines and towers-to find him. After the hawk snatches Jed, most of his squirrel community gathers for a memorial service. The gray squirrel Jed’s human acquaintance relates this entertaining story of friendship and adventure, beginning with Jed’s narrow escape from a hawk and then continuing with a series of tail-raising escapades.Īn introductory author’s note and endnote frame the story as a tale told by the squirrel to the writer.
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