Tweens Read Thursdays
Goodreads Synopsis:
Jed, TsTs, and Chai are the very best of friends. So when Jed is snatched up by a hawk and carried away to another realm, TsTs and Chai resolve to go after him. Mysteriously, the hawk has dropped him. They saw it. Jed could be alive. New communities are discovered, new friends made, huge danger is encountered (both man-made and of the fox and bobcat variety) and the mysteries of squirrel culture are revealed. It turns out that squirrels are steadfast and fun-loving. It turns out they adore peanut butter. It turns out they love games and really good stories. And nuts.
Nuts to You very slightly reminded me of my favorite childhood book, Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant. Bunny Trail: If you have not read Gooseberry Park, you need to go put it on hold at your local library this very moment! It is the best (and possibly the only) dog/squirrel/bat/hermit crab book you will ever read.
And, (oh happiness!) Cynthia Rylant released a sequel, Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan, less than a month ago! You better believe my inner ten year old self got excited when I heard this news! I currently have it on hold and will hopefully have the opportunity to blog about it soon. But getting back to Nuts to You...
The strongest point of this book was the setting. I enjoyed visiting the squirrel world, mainly because it reminded me of beloved books from my child (like Gooseberry Park). In addition, Perkins sprinkles quirky humor throughout the book. For example, the squirrels have their own words for things, such as "buzzpaths" for power lines. However, overall, I had a rather hard time caring about this book. The plot is overly simple, the world building needs to be a little stronger, and the humor is not quite funny enough to justify the lack of character development. For me, this book was simply readable. To a child who is an avid animal lover, this could very well be their Gooseberry Park.
~Alyssa
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