The Busy Little Squirrel

All Ages

Birth - 12 months

by Nancy Tafuri

The leaves have started to fall. The air is cold. Squirrel needs to get ready for winter. He cannot nibble with the mice. He does not have time to hop with the frogs or run with the dogs. Will this busy little squirrel ever slow down?

Focusing on all the charming features of the fall season, this sweetly illustrated story features country animals, pumpkins, leaves, apples and other signs of autumn.

Age: 2 Year-olds | Title: The Busy Little Squirrel | Author: Nancy Tafuri | Publisher: Little Simon

Focusing on all the charming features of the fall season, this sweetly illustrated story features country animals, pumpkins, leaves, apples and other signs of autumn.

Why we chose this book

Have you ever looked out your window to see a squirrel scurrying about and wonder what it was doing? Author Nancy Tafuri did, which lead to the creation of this adorable book about a very busy squirrel. The watercolor illustrations seem simple at first glance, but a closer look – like your little one is sure to give while you’re reading aloud – reveals plenty of fine detail. It is fun to note the caterpillar on the pumpkin and leaf, the cricket on the birdfeeder, the small spider on a leaf, or the individual strands of the squirrel’s fur.

The story has a definite cadence when read aloud, which helps hold your child's attention. Repetition of certain lines also helps little readers learn and remember the words. As the different animals and amphibians try to distract squirrel from its task of gathering food for the winter, readers will learn to identify each animal, what types of food a squirrel eats, the process of a small animal preparing for winter, and the concept of determination.

I read this story to my friend Dano when he was two, and he had fun imitating each animal noise after me. After he knew all the animals in the book, I started making up new ones to add. When I asked what sound an alligator made, he opened his mouth excitedly to respond, but stopped short when he realized he didn’t know. All we could do is laugh when I realized that I didn't know either!

--Audra

About the author and illustrator

Nancy Tafuri began drawing at a very young age. She recalls that her mother "thought [she] would make a great interior decorator." But Tafuri had other ideas: "The more I thought about it the more I realized that I didn't want to fix up other people's houses. I had no idea that you could grow up to be a children's book illustrator."

Nancy's first big break as an illustrator for children's books came when she was given the opportunity to work on George Shannon's The Piney Woods Peddler in 1980. She modeled her illustrations on her husband and the old Pennsylvania gristmill they were living in at the time, and the book was published in 1981. The Piney Woods Peddler proceeded to win a Children's Choice citation from the International Reading Association and Tafuri's output has been prolific ever since.

Nancy says that when she was little she loved animals and wanted to draw them. As an illustrator, she always works very hard on "getting all the facts correct in my illustrations. Each animal or rock formation has to be correct. Even though my books aren't nonfiction, the feeling of accuracy has to be there."

Nancy has received several citations and awards for her work, including the Caldecott Honor Award for Have You Seen My Duckling? She lives in the country with her husband and daughter.