GRAY SQUIRREL LOSES IT!

Is there really a nut pirate loose in the forest?

An unseen narrator welcomes readers on a tour of the forest, then calls their attention to various sights, from a cardinal, whose red color comes from the berries he consumes, to a pair of white-tailed deer (“Did you know their antlers fall off every year?”). But Grayson T. Squirrel keeps interrupting. Grayson has lost track of an acorn, buried for safekeeping. Clearly, a nut pirate has stolen it! Grayson accuses the cardinal, the deer, and even a black bear. That last one proves a grave mistake as the bear roars its disapproval. The narrator interjects, and the squirrel remembers that the nut was last seen “near a rock with an X on it.” Grayson begins digging by a small seedling—a baby oak tree that’s apparently sprouted from the acorn Grayson hid. An argument ensues between Grayson and the cardinal: “My nut!” “My tree!” Still, all eventually ends well for the irascible squirrel. Federman’s tale, told in a mix of narration and speech bubbles from Grayson and the other animals, strikes an agreeably madcap, off-the-wall tone. The digitally created illustrations are dynamic and funny, and the book closes with a quick glossary of nature-related terms, information on white-tailed deer and how gray squirrels burying acorns leads to the growth of oak trees, and a bear safety song.

Nutty fun.