Kids’ Book Review: Those Darn Squirrels – A Series About Unlikely Friendships

Those Darn Squirrels, written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri.

From the creators of Dragons Love Tacos, meet Old Man Fookwire; a man so old and grumpy that he sneezes up dust clouds and dislikes puppies. The only thing Fookwire does like is painting the birds that visit his yard. He is sad when summer turns to fall, knowing the birds will fly south for the winter. Fookwire tries to tempt the birds to stay with birdfeeders, but, unfortunately, a group of crafty squirrels like the birdfeeders, too! Soon an all-out war of wits is on between the old man and those darn squirrels, the “cleverest of all the woodland creatures.” Young readers will delight in the escalating antics between Fookwire and his furry nemeses, and their grownups will enjoy giving voice to Old Man Fookwire’s ornery expressions. The illustrations are bright and charming, humorously depicting the zany antics of the characters.

Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri.

In the sequel to Those Darn Squirrels, Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door shares the continuing adventures of Old Man Fookwire, his beloved birds, and those darn squirrels. Old Man Fookwire and his forest friends’ peaceful lives are disrupted by the arrival of some new neighbors: Little Old Lady Hu and her cat, Muffins. Little Old Lady Hu is the perfect neighbor, but Muffins is a big bully. He ties the squirrels’ tails together, and gives them noogies, wet willies, and wedgies. The birds are terrified, the squirrels are furious, and Old Man Fookwire is so mad, he sends a letter to the mayor. As usual, those mischievous squirrels form a plan to save the day; but will it succeed? Rubin’s story and Salmieri’s illustrations are the perfect combination for this silly tale. And if you’ve ever wondered what a squirrel would look like with a wedgie, look no further!

Those Darn Squirrels Fly South written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri.

Great googley-moogley, it’s the third and final Those Darn Squirrels book! It is fall, and Old Man Fookwire is in an even worse mood than usual because his beloved birds will soon fly south for the winter. But this time, the squirrels decide that they want to fly south, too. As we soon find out, squirrels have a “comprehensive understanding of aerodynamic engineering.” With impressive ingenuity they build a flying flotilla of paper bag blimps, coke bottle jets, and acorn gliders, and follow the birds to the beach village of Santa Vaca. When Old Man Fookwire decides to join them, we get to see a whole new side to our favorite grump.