Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure (The Secret Lives of Squirrels)

Written and illustrated by Nancy Rose

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-468-3

32 pp.

Ages 4–9

October 2025 

 

Nancy Rose has been telling stories with her red squirrel friends for almost a decade, with Oakley appearing about five years ago to help teach concepts of letters and numbers (Oakley the Squirrel: The Search for Z: A Nutty Alphabet Book [2021] and Oakley the Squirrel: Camping 1, 2, 3!: A Nutty Numbers Book [2023]). Now Oakley is ready to take on the country of Canada and see what it has to offer.

From Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure, written and illustrated by Nancy Rose

In defined double-page presentations of an illustration based on a photographed diorama opposite a page of text titled with the province or territory visited, a quaint verse about Oakley's experience, and an info box of additional details, Nancy Rose takes her sciurine friend cross-country. Readers are taken from east to west and then north to ensure all areas are represented.

From Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure, written and illustrated by Nancy Rose

Oakley visits tourist attractions like the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, and the Badlands of Drumheller. He builds an igloo in Nunavut, goes on a polar bear tour in Churchill, and hikes the trail in Cathedral Grove in British Columbia. He sees and does a lot, and young readers will learn about the diversity of landforms, flora, fauna, weather, and adventures to be had across Canada. But also important are the notes Nancy Rose always adds about the Indigenous Peoples of the province or territory, and some history of the land and its people. As an introduction to Canada, Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure is rich in content and curious in its presentation.

From Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure, written and illustrated by Nancy Rose

Often called "the squirrel lady" because of her viral photos of squirrels, Nancy Rose has segued that venture into telling stories with her elaborate outdoor dioramas. She creates them with found materials and entices her friend Oakley—earlier it was Mr. Peanuts from The Secret Lives of Squirrels (2016)—with peanuts. By blending her crafting and photography interests with the natural world, Nancy Rose has given us a series of whimsical stories and concept books that will attract young readers and, here in Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure, teach them about our country.

From Oakley's Great Canadian Adventure, written and illustrated by Nancy Rose

  

Ballewiena

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-137-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

June 2022

Let's get some joy in our lives. Dance, dogs, and fulfillment will do just the trick with Rebecca Bender's Ballewiena.

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

Dotty dreamed of being a ballet dancer. She knew how to plié, assemblé and pirouette. She could chassé, glissé and do a pas de chat (even though she was a dog). But Ms. Austere did not appreciate Dotty's moves and, while she trained Dotty's poodle sibs Jazzebelle and Miffy for the upcoming Golden Bow Talent Show, she took the dachshund to the Canine School of Obedience. 

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

But obedience school was not for Dotty who "tried, she really did, but something inside her made her spring up into an elegant entrechat." Despondent, Dotty runs into the park after class and meets Louis-Pierre, a squirrel and an acrobat. Louis-Pierre invites Dotty, whom he calls Pitou, to work out with him and teaches her, by some unusual pedagogical means, the value of practice in gaining skills.  

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

Still, when the Golden Bow Talent Show comes around, Dotty is expected only to watch from the audience. But, Louis-Pierre has other ideas and liberates Dotty to show off her skills and reveal her true ballerina self.

Young readers will know Rebecca Bender's storytelling from her award-winning Giraffe and Bird series (e.g., Giraffe Meets Bird; Giraffe and Bird Together Again; Don't Laugh at Giraffe) but she does as well by dogs as she does with giraffes, birds, hedgehogs and ducklings (e.g., How Do You Feel?) and more. She makes us care about her characters who are all expressive and one-of-a-kind, whether they are pets or wild. That's because her stories are those lived by children. Dotty may be a dog but she could be any child who feels her dream is being stifled and who wants to express herself through dance. I suspect that Rebecca Bender is a herself ballet parent, one who has learned much from attending classes with little ones. In fact, I myself learned much about ballet through the text of Ballewiena but also in her incredible endpapers that depict a variety of ballet movements and their phonetic pronunciations. Yes, Ballewiena is about ballet, and would make a great gift for any child who enjoys dance classes, but it has important messages about following your aspirations and being true to yourself while ensuring that you put the work in so it becomes a goal and not a pipe-dream.  

Rebecca Bender's illustrations, created with gouache, watercolour, pen and ink, as well as digital media, carry those messages through worlds of colour, shape and attitude. Her assortment of canine and other characters conveys a depth of personality beyond the dance. (I was especially taken with Louis-Pierre who, with his sweatband and drawstring workout pants, has a je ne sais quoi quality that is adorable, even as he coaches Dotty through rigorous training.)

Whether you're a dancer, an appreciative fan or neither, Ballewiena reminds us to follow our passions and dance fully in our lives.

Hat Cat

Written by Troy Wilson

Illustrated by Eve Coy

Candlewick Press

978-1-5362-1366-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

February 2022

 

In a charming little house with a garden rich in trees and plants lived an old man. He loved the squirrels that visited him. In fact, he liked to feed them by placing peanuts in his tweed bucket hat and welcoming the squirrels to sit upon it to feast.

From Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy

 One day, he'd laid his checked hat down on the bench beside him and a kitten found its way beneath. Appropriately he named the cat Hat. The old man loved Hat. He fed it, played with it and stroked it, welcoming it into his home completely. But the one thing he would not do was allow Hat to go outside. Between not wanting to lose the little cat and not wanting his beloved squirrels to be chased away or hurt, the old man would not allow himself to let Hat outside. And so, Hat stayed inside, longingly looking outside.

From Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy

Day after day, the old man and Hat and the squirrels had their routine. And then one day, the elderly man did not feed Hat or play with it. Days went by before other people came to feed Hat and talk to him. And on one of those days, Hat slips out. 

From Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy

What happens when Hat gets outside and when the old man happily returns is the true tale of Hat Cat and one that speaks of companionship and trust.

I've been captivated by multiple books by Troy Wilson (e.g., Goldibooks and the Wee Bear; Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf; Liam Takes a Stand) and Hat Cat has done the same. As a cat lover and a feeder of backyard red squirrels, I can empathize with the older man's desire to keep both safe and welcomed at his home. They enrich his life with the company they provide and he is given purpose with the care-giving he accords them. Those mutual relationships are so endearing but also tenuous, as seen when the elderly man is ostensibly taken ill and unavailable to both Hat and the squirrels. As a reader, I became anxious for the little cat when days went by without the older man tending to it and was relieved when first alternate caregivers attended the home and Hat and then the man returned. And with that, both Hat and the man have learned that taking a chance on something different is sometimes worth it.

 

Hat Cat is illustrated by England's Eve Coy who provides the charming landscapes of home and garden for the older man, Hat and the squirrels. The settings delight with colour and warmth, the house filled with homey plants, books, furniture and artwork, and the garden lush with planters, flowers and more. It's a place we'd all love to visit and where a man, a cat and some squirrels have made a home.

 

Young readers may recognize a grandparent or elderly neighbour in Hat Cat and the tender relationships between a man and the animals, both domestic and wild, for which he cares. I hope they also see the goodness of caring for others, furred or not, as worthwhile and enriching for all, and something to which we should all aspire. The rewards are certainly priceless.

Little Juniper Makes It Big

Written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie
Farrar Straus Giroux
978-0-374-31045-5
40 pp.
Ages 4-8
July 2019

Juniper is a little raccoon and she's tired of being so little. She sees the disadvantages of being small in a world made by adults for adults. Everything seems to be too high for her to reach, whether it be the sink, the door knob or an elusive jar of cookies. Even when she puts her engineering skills to work, with springboards and stilts, hoppers and heighteners, and cranes and catapults and balloons, "Juniper's efforts fell short." 

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

At school, Juniper realizes that she is actually of average size and even far larger than new student Clove whose size does not hinder her efforts at all. When Clove invites Juniper to her home, the raccoon anticipates lessons in "un-smallness" but she is pleasantly surprised to learn that, at "Clove's home, Juniper was adult-size."

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

Still, it's that grass-is-always-greener scenario because Juniper soon recognizes that she can't enjoy fun activities like swinging, playing dress-up, bouncing on the bed and even playing hide-and-seek when she's far larger than Clove. Nevertheless, Juniper's sleepover at Clove's helps her recognize how her own home was "very, nearly, almost perfect!"

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

Children are always in such a hurry to get bigger, older, taller and have more responsibilities, and the storytelling in Little Juniper Makes It Big suggests, without admonishing, that it's perfectly normal to see another world as more desirable. However, Juniper finally gets the message with the help of the even smaller Clove, whose optimism and determination abound, that her world is perfect for her right now.

Aidan Cassie, whose first picture book, Sterling, Best Dog Ever (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018) won the 2019 Joan Betty Stuchner–Oy Vey!–Funniest Children's Book Award in the picture book/board book category, again blends the humour of childhood innocence and the determination to be more, or at least our very best. Juniper sees her world as limiting because of her size but, with a change in perspective, courtesy of a tiny squirrel with a voluminous personality and oodles of spirit, Juniper is able to appreciate her home and life in new ways. That's a very positive message, heightened with the humour and charm of Aidan Cassie's illustrations. I was won over by her artwork in Sterling, Best Dog Ever and Little Juniper Makes It Big introduces us to a new gang of cartoon animals in engrossing settings. (Check out the cottage-like setting of the bathroom below.) Her characters have joy and frustration amidst the normalcy of family, home, and school and even little humans will be able to identify with them.  By creating empathy for cute animals who are experiencing what our own children may also be encountering, Aidan Cassie has found a way to teach, delight, reassure and entertain our youngest who just want to make it big too.

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

The Dog Who Wanted to Fly

Written by Kathy Stinson

Illustrated by Brandon James Scott

Annick Press

978-1-77321-280-7

36 pp.

Ages 3-6

March 2019

A chattering squirrel just out of reach is the frustration of many a dog. Though a chase may be all that is wanted, but unlikely to happen when the squirrel remains out of reach, that mocking babble is taunting, and Zora is determined to find relief. If only she could fly!

From The Dog Who Wanted to Fly by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Brandon James Scott

Tully the cat may be the voice of reason, stating quite clearly that "Dogs can't fly" but Zora is resolute. She bounces as high as she can and she crashes. She flaps her ears and her tail and she crashes. She tries to springboard from a teeter-totter and she crashes. She considers using an umbrella but that idea is thwarted by a human. She fashions herself into a plane with ears, paws and tail extended but she cannot will herself "up." Still, when Tully begins to fall from a perch on a branch, Zora zings to the rescue.

From The Dog Who Wanted to Fly by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Brandon James Scott

Zora's story is that of author Kathy Stinson's own dog Georgia to whom she dedicates the story, but it really is the story of every dog who watches wistfully at chase fodder a.k.a. squirrels. But, like anyone with big dreams that may be preposterous–let's face it: dogs can't fly–there still may be a way to achieve versions of those goals and that's what Zora does when her friend is in danger.  Kathy Stinson, who can write everything from picture books to YA novels, tells Zora's story with words and logic that young readers will understand and enjoy, ending it with the subtle humour that children will appreciate, sure to laugh themselves silly.

And the squirrel was very quiet.

From The Dog Who Wanted to Fly by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Brandon James Scott

Brandon James Scott is an accomplished animator, creating the Emmy-nominated "Justin Time" TV series, but his artwork really shines when giving visual life to Kathy Stinson's story. He endows Zora with the cuteness to sweeten her story and the attributes of determination, imagination and compassion to carry it forward. Her expressive eyes and eyebrows, mouth and body language always speak to Zora's intentions, just as Tully and the squirrel voice their own views. (Check out the final illustration directly above.) Even Zora's backyard of fenced-in greenery is lush with light and life.

Here's to Zora who doesn't let logic keep her from her dreams and to the squirrel and Tully who will have to rethink what a dog can and cannot do.

Zora, The Dog Who Wanted to Fly by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Brandon James Scott

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Annick Press, the publisher of The Dog Who Wanted to Fly, just posted this sweet book trailer for it on YouTube.

Uploaded by Annick Press to YouTube on March 12, 2019.

Fox and Squirrel Help Out

Written and illustrated by Ruth Ohi

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-6320-0

32 pp.

Ages 2-7

August 2018

Teaching young children about empathy is not always easy because our expectations of when they should express empathy does not always jive with their feelings that empathy is necessitated. Programs like Roots of Empathy–a program in which babies visit classrooms so that students might develop their own emotional literacy–work well because children have a natural empathy for babies and those smaller and more vulnerable than themselves. That's why Ruth Ohi's latest picture book, Fox and Squirrel Help Out, her fourth Fox and Squirrel book, provides a literary model for teaching empathy while charming little ones with the honest and endearing friendship of two special friends.

From Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi

When something falls onto Fox's head, squeaking frantically and loudly, the two friends are flummoxed as to how to help the little creature. Though Fox sees beyond the noise and delights in the bat's warmth and softness, he recognizes the need to appease Squeak. Like a parent or babysitter trying to calm a restless baby, Fox and Squirrel try food and entertainment but it's only when Fox rocks back and forth on one leg that the little guy is calmed and comforted.

From Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi

Squirrel may be a little disgruntled because Fox insists on focusing on Squeak's needs but it's upon Squirrel's head that Squeak finds the coziness necessary for sleep. But that's only before his real family comes looking for him and Fox and Squirrel must say goodbye.

I know that everyone thinks they can write a picture book but they can't. I get a lot of picture books for review by writers who have not learned what it takes to make one great. Ruth Ohi knows how to do it right, with each and every book she creates. (Check out Kenta and the Big Wave and Shh! My Brother's Napping as two important examples of her work.) Fox and Squirrel Help Out checks off all the boxes: it tells a charming story, with simple but impactful text, which is enhanced with unique illustrations that tell more about the characters and their motivations than the words alone. Ruth Ohi's artistic style which blends daintiness with cartoons invites readers in to her scenes. (Has anyone ever thought of how awesome stuffies of Fox and Squirrel would be?)

From Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi

I could tell you that Fox and Squirrel Help Out has an important message about the empathy needed to "babysit" a young one who is away from its own family, but anyone who reads the story will get it. The book doesn't preach or need to in order to impress lessons upon the reader.  What is does do is share an anecdote of two friends spending time with another who needs their help. Sure there's acceptance of differences and appreciation of diversity of needs–Squirrel's attempts at entertaining, while adorable, just don't cut it with Squeak– but it's the two friends working together that continues to create the intimacy necessary to speak to children, here helping young ones see that they have the capacity to make things right in the world just on their own scale. It would appear that Fox and Squirrel Help Out more than just a young bat.

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If you head to author-illustrator Ruth Ohi's website at http://www.ruthohi.com/fox-and-squirrel-activities, you can get a variety of Fox and Squirrel activities, including bookmarks, cut-outs for stick puppets, etc. for Fox and Squirrel Help Out, as well as the other three books in the series.

The Whirlpool

Written by Laurel Croza

Illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-032-3

96 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2018

Don't be deceived by the simple cover illustration and the less-than-100 page count. The Whirlpool, a collection of seven short stories from award-winning picture book author Laurel Croza, is not an early reader.  Its stories are sophisticated and aimed at upper middle grades, covering a wide variety of issues from emotional abuse and grief to destiny and bullying.

In It's a Step, the narrator Charity lives with her mother and abusive father.  As her dad rails against her mom taking a job at Tim's, both mother and daughter find the means to take a small step to a better life.  In Book of Dreams, Mike finds the support he doesn't get at home from his mom and her latest boyfriend at a restaurant where he gets respect, appreciation and a turkey dinner. While a very different story in terms of characters, OH! is also about finding home. The Oh! So Perfect Hair Dolly goes from factory to store shelf and dreams of being named by a child. The desolation of being passed over during Christmas shopping and then being relegated to the reduced price bin is reflective of any child who has felt unloved.  

The Whirlpool is the story of fifteen-year-old Jasmine who is the brunt of swirling rumours at the whirlpool that is school about her having a baby. As she deals with the gossip and nastiness, Jasmine resolves to "look the whirlpool in the eye" (pg. 30) and reveal her story. A Beautiful Smile also looks at nastiness at school, this time with a young teen from the north standing up to a mean girl at her new Toronto school. Most satisfying is the public and clever way in which Nicola finds support and salvation.

Although all the stories have something important to impart, my two favourite stories are The Sunflower and Destiny. Though told from the perspective of a squirrel, The Sunflower is neither trite nor silly. It is an emotional story about loss and grief and making connections, and I defy anyone not to sob at its telling.  Destiny is a revealing story about following one's dreams, regardless of others' desires and opinions.  Johnny helped inspire his younger sister Dani to play hockey even when her father thought figure skating would be more appropriate. Dani persevered and changed her father's mind about her playing hockey. Now, with Johnny drafted to the OHL, she wants to help her brother accept his true destiny too.

Each story in Laurel Croza's collection is packed with emotional growth, from taking first steps to fulfilling one's destiny, or saving yourself, or accepting strengths and weaknesses as part of the whole package. The stories may be brief (each less than 20 pages) but they wallop you with the power of their storytelling, dialogue and message. My favourite, The Sunflower, does that all in five pages.

I shouldn't be surprised that Laurel Croza can weave such powerful tales. Her highly-acclaimed picture books, I Know Here and From There to Here, which were beautifully illustrated by Matt James, conveyed amazing stories in few words. But these stories are not picture book tales transformed into text. They are not for our youngest readers, though, because of the length of the books, parents and teachers might expect them to be so.  The stories in The Whirlpool collection deal with issues of abuse, gossip, abandonment, and death. While these are issues with which younger readers may be familiar, the older protagonists in Laurel Croza's stories suggest that older middle grade readers might understand the messages better.

I've always loved short story collections for the breadth of stories that can be told and the piecemeal manner in which the text can be read. They are potent teaching tools and convenient for reading in shorter time periods. With The Whirlpool, Laurel Croza has provided a worthwhile addition to the youngCanLit collection of short story anthologies as it enlightens, reassures and inspires.

Heartwood Hotel: A True Home

Written by Kallie George

Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

HarperCollins

978-1-44344-393-7

163 pp.

Ages 7-12

July 2017

The Heartwood Hotel is enchanting and Mona is the endearing mouse who brings heart to it and this first book in Kallie George's new series. Though the Heartwood Hotel is a long-established abode for travellers in search of rest and safety, Mona stumbles upon it when displaced by a storm from her stump–hardly a home, just her most recent residence–and transported by raging water deep into Fernwood Forest.  She is given shelter for the night by the badger proprietor, Mr. Heartwood, in exchange for help in cleaning up after the First Acorn Festival, a rollicking event held in the ballroom.

From Heartwood Hotel: A True Home 

by Kallie George 

illus. by Stephanie Graegin

But when he learns of her sad story of no family or home, only a walnut-shell suitcase with a heart carved into it, he takes her on as a maid to assist Tilly the squirrel while the housekeeper Mrs. Higgins, a hedgehog, is under the weather.  Though Tilly is supposed to familiarize Mona with the routines and layout of the hotel, she is rather mean to the young mouse and Mona seems to make many a mistake as she learns for herself what to do and not do.  Fortunately, there is a wonderful cast of characters to help her out: Gilles the lizard desk clerk; Ms. Prickles the porcupine cook; Mr. Higgins the hedgehog gardener; and Maggie and Maurice, the sibling laundry bunnies.  But it's the guests like skunks Lord and Lady Sudsbury and Miss Cybele the swallow that truly recognize Mona's spirit in supporting the hotel's motto,

We live by "Protect and Respect," 

not by "Tooth and Claw." (pg. 11)

Still after one too many mistakes and Tilly encouraging her to pack up before she is fired, Mona departs the hotel.  Huddled in an old log, she learns of a planned attack by wolves. The little mouse rushes back to warn Mr. Heartwood and the rest, coming up with a plan to ensure the safety of the Heartwood Hotel and her new family of staff and guests.

"...as she explained, the eyes of the animals grew wide and bright with the power of a big idea, of a brave idea, of a brilliant idea." (pg. 136)

From Heartwood Hotel: A True Home 

by Kallie George 

illus. by Stephanie Graegin

How do I convey to readers the infinite sweetness and gentility of A True Home? From the warm-hearted atmosphere and compassionate mission of the Heartwood Hotel and its staff to the plot of finding home, amidst common foibles and uncommon dangers, Kallie George's text is rich in friendship, courtesy, diversity and affection.  That majestic tree's hotel is built upon a solid foundation of respect for all creatures and the natural world of interrelationships, though as in the human world some need to be avoided if one is to survive.  But even the wolves, though frightening to many of the residents at the Heartwood Hotel, have an inane quality about them, squabbling about their achievements and the existence of the Heartwood Hotel. By doing this, Kallie George makes A True Home a suitable read-aloud for younger children who will easily be able to imagine the Hotel with its miscellaneous accommodations (including the root floors with hibernation suites, trunk floors, branch floors, twig floors and honeymoon and penthouse suites) and star-gazing balcony and ballroom. Graced with the black-and-white pencil drawings of American illustrator Stephanie Graegin, Heartwood Hotel's first book, A True Home, has surely found a place for itself in youngCanLit by captivating and gladdening our own hearts.

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The launch for the first two books in the Heartwood Hotel series, A True Home and The Greatest Gift, will be held next week in Vancouver so, if you can, be sure to check it out. Details here.

Fox and Squirrel, The Best Christmas Ever

by Ruth Ohi

North Winds Press, an imprint of Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-5703-2

32 pp.

Ages 2-7

September 2016

Now that the train of Santa Claus parades has begun and Christmas decorations are splattering front yards and homes throughout the country (yes, I know stores have been on the Christmas bandwagon for months!), it feels right to start reviewing some Christmas-themed books.   With Ruth Ohi’s Fox and Squirrel (Fox and Squirrel, 2013; Fox and Squirrel Make a Friend, 2014) making their own plans for the holidays, this might just get everyone else in the mood too.

From Fox and Squirrel, The Best Christmas Ever 

by Ruth Ohi

Once the snow comes, the two unlikely friends are definitely excited about Christmas. But while Fox is enjoying playing in the snow, Squirrel is enthusiastically planning colours, foods and starting a tower of evergreen twigs and red berries.  When Fox wants to help, Squirrel emphatically, almost rudely, fends him off, telling him, “Don’t touch! You’ll ruin it.” (pg. 11)

From Fox and Squirrel, The Best Christmas Ever 

by Ruth Ohi

Squirrel continues to go deeper into the forest, looking for more touches for his Christmas creation, until he realizes he cannot find his way back.  Fortunately, though chastized, Fox continued to try to contribute and was there with his friend to help make their way home.  With an apology and forgiveness, and the partnering of true friends, Fox and Squirrel do make the best Christmas ever.

From Fox and Squirrel, The Best Christmas Ever 

by Ruth Ohi

It’s hard not to love Ruth Ohi’s Fox and Squirrel (actually all her characters). Their eyes beam with joy, their mouths laugh with happiness, and their camaraderie is infectious.  In Fox and Squirrel, the Best Christmas Ever, the two are able to work through the ever-common stress of the holidays and find it’s the gift  of their friendship that makes the season.  This is sweetly conveyed in Ruth Ohi’s words, primarily simple dialogue between Fox and Squirrel, but more so in her cartoon-like illustrations of the two companions.  Their large oval heads with half-faces and bellies of white may be distinct, but it’s the body language and facial expressions that Ruth Ohi communicates with limited strokes that make Fox and Squirrel the lovable creatures they are.  In their watercolour landscapes of snow-covered fields, falling flakes, evergreens, and majestic trunks of bare deciduous trees, Fox and Squirrel exude affection for each other and life, and young readers will feel welcomed to enjoy the snow and the season with the two friends.
 
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Downloadable activities plus cards and bookmarks are available at Ruth Ohi’s website at http://www.ruthohi.com/fox-and-squirrel-winter-fun

The French-language version, Rikii et Rouquin, Le plus beau Noël (texte français de Josée Leduc) is also available.