Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this blithe story begun by the late Don Freeman (Corduroy), the squirrel introduced in Earl the Squirrel searches for acorns he has stashed away in the parks of Washington, D.C., as winter approaches. A note from Roy Freeman explains that his father started this story while visiting the capital in late 1963, but was so devastated by President Kennedy's assassination that he abandoned the project. The son completed the manuscript and Jody Wheeler created additional art, ably replicating Freeman's wispy style. The airy pictures feature splashes of autumnal hues and loose images of the city's buildings and monuments. The narrative is equally buoyant: Earl "dashed like a furry flash" across a busy avenue and wonders if children on a field trip "are looking for acorns, too." Earl displays an amusing persnickety streak, too-when a boy offers him the prize acorn Earl had been searching for, he thinks, "Well, I'm glad to hear it.... Since it was my acorn to begin with," and he bounces off several of the kids as he delivers the acorn to his waiting family. Ages 3-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 1-The celebrated creator of Corduroy (Viking, 1968) left behind scraps of this story, which his son has pieced together and completed. In Washington, DC, Earl the squirrel joins his park comrades in searching beneath orange leaves for stashes of hidden acorns to feed his wife and three kits. Unable to find the biggest acorn he hid during the summer, Earl braves traffic to cross Pennsylvania Avenue and cuts through to the Washington Monument, where scads of humans are gathered to watch a parade. A child's inconvenient meddling leads Earl to employ him as a stepping-stone to home. The 1960s style of Don Freeman's original inspiration stays true, but some scenes are significantly more detailed and complete, making for an unbalanced whole. Readers don't know the focus of the parade, and little actually happens. Earl's lack of emotional range makes investment in his success reserved at best.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A squirrel is looking for an acorn he hid months before, but the bustle of Washington, D.C., makes it difficult. Corduroy author Don Freeman's son, Roy, finished this manuscript after his father's death. The story is little more than an excuse to illustrate our nation's capital. The conflict doesn't carry readers through; it's the landmarks' depictions that provide the real entertainment. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Still no more than a rough draft despite being buffed up by an editor, Freeman's son and a second illustrator, Jody Wheeler, this sketchy tale of a Washington, D.C., squirrel rooting through autumn leaves for acorns buried "last summer" should have stayed in the trunk. Crossing a broad avenue and scurrying through an open gate"which," as the wooden text has it, "is something not every visitor can do, you may be certain"Earl the squirrel scampers about the Mall, past other squirrels and a group of children planting trees. In what passes for the climax, a parade turns out to be only a temporary obstacle to his final sortie, as the same children hold up their hands so he can make the leap back across the street and home to a "Well done, my dear," from his wife. Perky squirrels and several familiar D.C. monuments in the backgrounds give the broadly brushed art some visual interest, but not enough to compensate for the stiff prose and negligible plot. A disappointment, particularly after the likewise posthumous but far more finished Manuelo the Playing Mantis (2004). (afterword) (Picture book. 5-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
