Miss Suzy

Miss Suzy is driven from her comfy little home in a tree by an invasion of bully squirrels. She takes refuge in a dollhouse in the attic of a nearby abandoned home and tries to make the best of things even while she years to return home. She's even welcoming to some kind visitors who appreciate her hospitality, unlike those greedy ruffians from earlier.

It's a simple and sort of odd fantasy, but it has a pleasing if obvious ending. Though I worry it could be read as a MAGA bedtime story.

I remember this book so well from childhood. I love how cozy it is, and how it lets you imagine ways of living that are humanly inhuman; different, with the acorn cups and twig brooms that focus a kid's attention on the materiality and craftedness of everyday items and are such a tonic after the, like . . . sheer spuriousness of Slurpee cups and plastic brooms from Wal-Mart. But still the same, and this little grey squirrel is even more of a person now that I remember the squirrels in my own attic, once upon a time, and imagine that they were chased out of their tree by some maurading reds. I love how Miss Suzy lives alone, an independent woman in a room of her own. I love how the habits of red and grey squirrels as presented are show more ecologically sound--it is Miss Suzy who goes to live in the house, and the reds who outcompete her. I don't, of course, agree with the demonization of the red squirrels, who are the heroes in their struggle as much as there are any "heroes" in the nonhuman world. But hell, let's just say that these particular red squirrels were douchebags, and that Miss Suzy is a real charmer. show less

Miss Suzy is a little gray squirrel who lives happily in her oak-tree home until she is chased away by some mean red squirrels. Poor Miss Suzy is very sad. But soon she finds a beautiful dollhouse and meets a band of brave toy soldiers. How Miss Suzy and the soldiers help each other makes a gentle, old-fashioned tale that will capture the imagination of girls and boys alike. Enchanting illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner Arnold Lobel are sure to make the kind squirrel and the gallant soldiers the everlasting friends of all who turn the pages.

Another few years on me since I last read this book with toddler Luisa, and now reading it with toddler Emmett, I find myself slightly more rankled by the bland masculine heroism of the toy soldiers and the way Miss Suzy "mothers" them (we don't need that), but I still love her quiet heart and the textures of her world, even if they don't resonate the same way with Emmett, a car lover.

Almost wonderful - but I'm a pacifist and I cannot accept soldiers as heroes in a picture-book. Swords kill, and killing is bad. It's true that red squirrels are aggressive & destructive, though, even to the point where anthropomorphizing them as a gang of hooligans is not far-fetched.

Miss Suzy is a little gray squirrel who lives happily in her oak-tree home until she is chased away by some mean red squirrels. Poor Miss Suzy is very sad. But soon she finds a beautiful dollhouse and meets a band of brave toy soldiers. How Miss Suzy and the soldiers help each other makes a gentle, old-fashioned tale that will capture the imagination of girls and boys alike. Enchanting illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner Arnold Lobel are sure to make the kind squirrel and the gallant soldiers the everlasting friends of all who turn the pages.

I liked this book because it had a good message of friendship that was executed in an imaginative way. This book was essentially about a squirrel named Miss Suzy who was kicked out of her home in an oak tree by ruthless red squirrels. Miss Suzy make herself a new home and takes care of some toy soldiers as well. One night the toy soldiers went to Miss Suzy’s old home and got it back for her by scaring away the red squirrels. The unusual friendship between the squirrel and the toy soldiers was inspirational. Miss Suzy did not expect any thing from the soldiers but company. She fed them and tucked the in at night. The actions of the soldiers displayed their love and gratitude for what Miss Suzy did for them.
I also liked this book show more because the characters were well developed. Miss Suzy was a squirrel but she portrayed all the human like qualities that a house-wife of the 60’s would most likely hold. The author wrote, “She liked to cook, she liked to clean, and she liked to sing while she worked.” She toke immense pride in her home and cherished every detail. The red squirrels were clearly the villains of the story and the reader was shown this by their destructive actions. For example when the squirrel bombarded Miss Suzy’s home the author wrote, “They broke her broom and threw out her acorn cups. Then they ate up her whole winter’s supply of nuts.” Lastly the toy soldiers were the brave heroes of the story. The soldiers were out numbered but that did not stop the. They marched to the old home in the Oak tree and said to the red squirrels. “Will you go peaceably, or must we fight?” show less