Title: The Adventure of Harwood Squirrel
Author: Dorothy A. Wyatt
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-4990-3516-2
Genre: Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Squirrels
Pages: 26
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Harwood is a squirrel who lives in a tall tree which has a hole in it, so he did not have to make a nest. He could sleep in the hole in the tree. He gets seeds and nuts from a lady’s feeder, every day, so he doesn’t have to forage for food. He hangs out with his brother Garwood, and aside from a big brown dog in the yard at the base of the tree, nothing seems to bother him. For Harwood, life is easy, life is good.
This forms the basis of The Adventure of Harwood Squirrel by author Dorothy A. Wyatt. This is a well-illustrated children’s book with “easy reading” typestyle of galley text for little ones to form good reading recognition skills for words. The story, albeit a bit benign at first, forms an adventure when Harwood hitches a ride in a moving van and is transported off to a place where he no longer has the creature comforts of a nest and food, nor the companionship of Garwood. Luckily for Harwood, the lady that fed him realizes what has happened, and comes to the rescue of this jolly, care-free squirrel. So a warm and fuzzy ending is brought to readers’ attention as they page this fanciful story.
Everyone loves squirrels and it’s only natural to want to feed them. A sub-theme in The Adventure of Harwood Squirrel is it is best to not feed wild animals; as by doing so they build up a dependence on the human feeding and lack their own skills for gathering edible food. The retuning of Harwood to his “home tree” is enough of a happy ending in this story, so children will be able to celebrate the “homecoming” for Harwood.
The Adventure of Harwood Squirrel is unique in its theme, and children in the singledigit years of age will undoubtedly enjoy reading this to themselves over and over again, as it is designed to be an early-reading book. So there’s a new squirrel in town, his name is Harwood and he’s off to perhaps more adventures.
