Review Detail

Squrilish The Girl in the Tree is the first book in author Ellen Potter's "Squirlish" series. It focuses on a young girl named Cordelia who lives in Central Park with her squirrel friends. A squirrel named Shakespeare is the one who found Cordelia when she was a baby and acts as her adoptive father. When Cordelia enters the human world, she takes a gymnastics class where she shows off her agile skills learned from leaping from tree to tree. Though Cordelia excels at gymnastics she struggles to connect with the other children and leaves the gymnastics class feeling like she doesn't fit in. Eventually, Cordelia forms a friendship with one of the boys she met in gymnastics class which shows her she can have the best of both worlds.

What I Liked: Cordelia is a delightful character. It's entertaining to read Cordelia's attempt at navigating a human world and how she views things. Readers will find Cordelia and her mishaps in the human world hilarious. I especially liked it when she tried to teach a friend how to speak to the squirrels. The illustrations add to the charm, capturing the whimsy of Cordelia's world. New York City and Central Park are the settings for the story. Since I've lived in New York and visited Central Park, all the details in this book are meaningful to me.

Young readers just starting to explore chapter books on their own will find The Girl in the Tree engaging.