Anne Hunter (1)

Here's a cute and rather predictable story of a friendly baby squirrel whose lively presence annoys the neighbors until one of them is goaded into unkindness. The little squirrel stays home the next day, and the other animals realize they miss the baby despite the childish behavior that irritated them. The animals of the forest learn patience, but did the baby squirrel learn anything? It left me with the feeling that if you're cute, small, and beloved it doesn't matter if you're show more inconsiderate. I would have liked some indication that the baby took a step toward learning to be polite.

The pen and colored pencil illustrations are effective, with only the baby, the sun, and the tulips in a flash of warm color. The rest are nicely sketched in black and white. My favorite is the baby squirrel with its mother, curled up safely in their nest. show less

Illustrated with verve and charm, this is a somewhat disappointing story. Baby Squirrel gets on the nerves of his forest neighbours, in part for good reason, and in part for little cause. The shift comes when he doesn't come out and everyone misses him - but again, for no reason. No matter how objectively irritating he was, he is missed - a vindication that he did absolutely nothing to bring about. This is cheap grace at work - no change of habit, politeness or consideration is required from show more Baby Squirrel, and it feels false because it is false. show less

A sweet simple tale of a mischievous, slightly annoying baby squirrel and their forest adventures...until one day Baby doesn't show up! This book offers a storyline on the surface for younger readers and some deeper meaning for older readers as well. And who can't relate with missing someone who they find a bit bothersome? Certainly anyone with siblings!

This could have been so good! But it fails to deliver.

Mamma Mouse is very happy to have a baby. When she hears her baby’s first words, she is excited. But soon she realises that her baby simply doesn’t shut up and keeps squeaking all day long. In hope of getting some peace and quiet, she sends him out of the house to be with his other animal friends. Baby Mouse babbles and squeaks with every single one of them until they either run away or fall asleep. At the end, Mamma Mouse finds the show more house too quiet and goes in search of Baby to get him back.

Every parent will be able to identify with Mamma Mouse and how, at times, the constant chatter of our little ones can get on our nerves. However, instead of making optimum use of this comical paradox, the book just ends up with the bare minimum. There’s not much humour except if you make squeaky noises while reading the book aloud to your child. There’s no message or moral at all. In fact, parents will find it a tad more humorous than kids as the latter simply wont understand why Mamma Mouse was so irritated.

The text is quite basic and easy to understand. The illustrations are good enough but not mind-blowing.

I feel like there was so much potential wasted in this book. It was overly simplified. The end was especially disappointing – doesn’t Mamma Mouse want to speak a single word with her Baby even when he wasn’t home all day??? Basically, other than the potential squeaks you can indulge in with your little one while reading this, I didn’t find much else that would make me recommend this book.

My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books, and NetGalley for the ARC of “Baby Squeaks”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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