Little Parachutes

Picture books that help children

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Little Parachutes Gold Star Winner
Categories: Courage, Friendship & Getting Along, Kindness, Listening & Co-operating, Resilience / adaptability

The Squirrels Who Squabbled

A laugh-out-loud tale about friendship and learning to share, two squirrels squabble over one nut but ultimately put their differences aside and co-operate.
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The Squirrels Who Squabbled by Rachel Bright

Author: Rachel Bright
Illustrator: Jim Field
Publisher: Orchard

“Greed, it was driving them over the edge”.

This is a comical tale of two squirrels with very different personalities and how they learn to get along.

‘Spontaneous Cyril’ is not one to think ahead. While all the other forest creatures are busy collecting and storing food for winter, he’s out partying. As the weather cools, he realises that his lack of planning and hard work has left his food cupboard empty.

‘Plan-Ahead Bruce’, on the other hand, has amassed an obscenely large stockpile of provisions, but is still convinced he hasn’t got quite enough. When both squirrels spot the last pine cone of the season hanging tantalisingly from a branch, a frantic race begins between them to grab the prize. This involves a close run-in with a bear and a near-drowning experience in the rapids. Fortunately, Cyril manages to grab Bruce from the water and drag him to safety. Bedraggled and gasping from their battle to win the last nut (which was completely in vain as a bird swooped down and stole it), they suddenly realise how silly they have been and share a good laugh together. They vow to stop squabbling and start sharing, and organise a big feast for all the animals to enjoy.

Rachel Bright’s effortlessly flowing, engaging story and Jim Field’s expressive and animated character illustrations are a match made in heaven. A cracker of  a picture book containing some really important messages for children.

This video link is provided to help an adult assess the book's suitability for a child's situation before purchasing it. It has been filmed by a third party and hosted on YouTube and is not made by Little Parachutes. More info

The messages we found in this book:

Acknowledgement:

  • It’s tempting to procrastinate when you have important but difficult/boring things to do. Cyril spends his time partying when he should be gathering food for the winter.
  • Sometimes it’s hard to share! Bruce became obsessed with gathering food to the point that he had far more than he needed.
  • It’s very easy to get carried away in the heat of the moment. The squirrels were so focussed on ‘winning’ the nut that they put themselves in danger. They didn’t even notice that a bird was swooping in to grab the nut from them.
  • Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to make us realise what’s important in life. Cyril and Bruce realise how silly and selfish they’ve been after they fell down the rapids.

Guidance:

  • Friendship and shared experiences are more precious than material possessions (“The best thing to share is a laugh with your friend’).

Hope & Inspiration:

  • Cyril and Bruce have been selfish and greedy, but in the end they realise the error of their ways and improve their behaviour. They begin to share with the other animals  and realise that friendship, laughter and fun is what is really important.