Review Detail

WELCOME, LITTLE SQUIRREL is a cute picture book about finding home. Hazelnut had prepared her tree for winter, but disaster strikes when beavers take it down for their dam. Hazelnut sets out on a journey to find a new home and tries to fit in with other animals, including beavers and bats. However, none of their rules and lives feel quite right - until she finds some other squirrels.

What I loved: The illustrations are quite vivid and lovely with a lot of detail and expressive characters. There is a good variety of animals along the way, and they are all very kind and inviting to Hazelnut, as she makes a lot of friends on her journey. The lessons that each animal has are cute and add a bit of extra fun. Kindness from the other animals was a thread throughout the story as they all welcome her and try to help her feel at home.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the text was a bit long with paragraphs on each page. The story may work best for older picture book readers who do not mind the level of detail. The lesson of the story also felt a bit odd, as Hazelnut ultimately seems to learn that she needs to be with her own kind, even when other animals were kind and welcoming to her. It was a bit unclear that the message was about being a good neighbor.

Final verdict: WELCOME, LITTLE SQUIRREL is a cute picture book about finding a place to call home and being a neighbor. This may work best for older picture book readers.