A highly entertaining fable of squirrels reliving the history of the United States. Will they solve our problems – faster?After the Great Disastrous Flood recedes, squirrel greats George Squirrelton and Benjamin Franknut convince the surviving squirrels that they have to organize themselves to survive under the difficult conditions. They form the Sciurus States on the Eastern Seaboard.However, … Seaboard.
However, due to excessive storms, life is difficult until squirrel influencer Steve I’Squirrel discovers that the weird boxes the squirrels find in deserted human dwellings can be used to communicate with other burrows.
The Sciurus States, and especially its capital, Nuttington, begin to flourish. Still, over time, problems arise.
The Tribe Council, which is supposed to protect all squirrels, is favoring their own interests more than the interests of all squirrels. Some residents notice.
Young Harry, a descendant of president Theo Roosquirrel, his Great-Grandpa, the gray eminence of Nuttington burrow, and Gary Logisquir, the Sciurus States’ nut-checkers champion, all discover reasons to be unhappy with The Council’s activities.
Meanwhile, one of the Sciurus States’ residents tries to find the nerve to become a whistleblower because, in truth, The Council has an even bigger secret than Harry, Great-Grandpa, and Gary Logisquir can guess.
Then, one day, Harry finds a rare raspberry. Great-Grandpa tells him that finding a raspberry means that an extraordinary thing might be happening.
Will Harry and his Great-Grandpa discover the Big Secret?
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When a technology center’s doors are closed and guards posted at its entrance, a community elder senses something is amiss. Teenagers Harry and Sean hear about the strange closing and decide to investigate. What follows is a fascinating story of politics gone amok. Sprinkled among this fun story are thought-provoking political nuggets such as “The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.”
This clever story is made even more entertaining by virtue of all the characters being squirrels. As implausible as a squirrel society seems, Hausmann’s world building is excellent. Once you suspend belief, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this remarkable story.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for an unusual read.
Gisela Hausmann’s fabulous fable should be required reading for all ages, but particularly young people. Indeed, it would be a good thing if it was on the reading curriculum at schools.
I pre-ordered this book and looked forward to reading it. I wasn’t disappointed. It is original, with a nod to Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm.’ It is well-written in simple, clear language but with such a powerful message.
Yes, it’s about squirrels, and I must congratulate the author on such an astute choice of mammal to use as the “vehicle” for her message. They are not only cute but are also intelligent and non-aggressive.
Through this fable, the author parodies much of what ails modern society. She takes aim at global warming, the malign influence of powerful lobbyists, the secrecy of big government, and the current benchmarks of democracy that seem so far removed from the original principles of the “Founding Fathers.” There are also sly but accurate digs at other current societal ills such as racism.
The author imbues the squirrels with great characters through her writing. There is the old and wise Great-Grandpa, and Harry, his great grandson, Harry’s friend Sean just to mention a few. As the blurb says, “After the Great Disastrous Flood recedes, squirrel greats George Squirrelton and Benjamin Franknut convince the surviving squirrels that they have to organize themselves to survive under the difficult conditions. They form the Sciurus States on the Eastern Seaboard.” Its capital is Nuttington and is the seat of power in the form of “The Tribe Council.” Its role is supposed to protect all squirrels. But, it comes to the notice of some squirrel citizens that self-interest appears to more predominant than democracy in action in the form of “The Square Deal for Squirrels.”
Ms. Hausmann coins some wonderful names for the characters such as Steve I’Squirrel (an entrepreneur), president Theo Roosquirrel, Gary Logisquir, the Sciurus States’ nut-checkers champion, John F Kennesquirrel, and Maggie Carnegiesquir. I just laughed out loud at these names.
The whole book was fun. It entertained me immensely. I also found the reference to Twitter, known here as Kuks&Quaas (apparently, they are squirrel noises – not Tweets!) witty and hilarious. The author even introduces us to hashtags such as #nuts. The expletives took the form of utterances like “Holy pistachio!” It all added to the fun of the story.
At 102 pages, it is a short read, but ‘Animal Farm’ was only a tad longer. In any event, short or not, the sign of a good read is satisfaction on reaching the end. I was utterly satisfied by that time.