squirrels

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The Little Squirrel who Worried by Katy O’Donoghue

The past two years have had a profound effect on how we all interact with others.  For many adults it has been a difficult time, but for children, whether very small or older, it has been even more difficult as they were only just beginning to learn how to integrate with other children; both at nursery and then at primary school.  For those ho are just that little bit older, it can be even more of an issue.  After all, they had just got used to school and having new friends and then suddenly they were cut off from this contact and often restricted to a very small space as well; those living in small flats would have had a particularly difficult time.  This charming little book follows Little Squirrel as he gradually learns to renew his contact with the world around him and finds that the other animals are friendly and caring and want to help him get used to the wood he lives in.

Thank you for Katie O’Donoghue for writing this introduction to her work and explaining the background to the story.  With her work as a child therapist she has first hand experience of the issues that young people face at times like this and hopefully her book will help many children cope with all of the changes they face.

From the author:

“It’s time for Little Squirrel to start collecting acorns for winter, but he hasn’t left his tree since last autumn. He is nervous about going outside again after such a long time tucked up in his nest. The more Little Squirrel thinks about venturing down to the forest floor, the more he worries about the unknown and what might be waiting for him….The past few years have certainly had an impact on everyone’s wellbeing and mental health, with research identifying that anxiety in children ages 3-17 have increased over the last five years.

The tale of “The Little Squirrel Who Worried“, introduces the reader to the world of a Little red Squirrel and follows him on his adventures through the forest. As little squirrel encounters new friends on his journey we learn valuable strategies to equip us with skills that will benefit us our whole lives. We engage with anxiety psychoeducation*, helping the reader to understand anxiety what it is and how it can physically present. Distraction techniques that helps to take your mind off worried thoughts. Coping strategies, relaxation techniques and CBT** Thought challenging skills. These complex issues are told gently in a child like way and through the engagement of the characters in the forest that little squirrel meets. The tale invites the reader to meet Wren and Snuffly Hedgehog, Grey Rabbit to Mister Fox and from Old Badger to Great Stag. All these techniques can be useful in helping children manage any worried thoughts and feelings they may be having. It is the perfect book for a parent and child to sit down together and to use as a springboard for difficult conversation. Its also a great resource for teachers to use in the classroom to help children learn mindful techniques which can support them through the rest of their lives.

* psychoeducation –  learning about and understanding mental health and wellbeing

** CBT – Cognitive behavioural therapy

A timely story with a message that’s suitable for children and adults alike. As well as teaching coping strategies to help manage anxiety, it is a lovely way to help a child relax and regulate.  With the increase in children being impacted by anxiety and other mental health concerns and a demand in services, resources like The Little Squirrel Who Worried are needed to help families navigate the ways to best support children’s wellbeing.”

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TAILS: the animal investigators of London by Martin Penny

They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but in this case it is definitely a case that the fiction stems directly from real events.  The world of children’s literature has long been the natural home of stories featuring animals, both wild and domesticated.  From ‘Wind in the Willows’ to ‘Watership Down’ we have grown up with these glimpses of life for other creatures.  In the last couple of decades we have seen a focus on more animals that we think of as being domesticated, although in the stories they are often feral and very wary of the human world; characters such as ‘Varjak Paw‘show a slightly different side, being more akin to Yowl with his connection to humans.  The characters that we find in this story are a mix of domesticated and wild and they share an uneasy truce, in the face of a common enemy.

This particular new story features a collection of animals, all of whom live in the London  suburbs; it is based on true life events that took place in Croydon, starting in about 2010.  The central character is a young kitten called Yowl and he has just moved to a new home with his owners  and their young daughter, Lucy.  We follow this young and intrepid kitten as he gradually meets his neighbours, both feline and canine.  He is then gradually introduced to some of the surrounding wildlife, in the guise of pigeons, squirrels and even a family of foxes.  What really brings all of these creatures together is the realization that cats have been disappearing over the last year or so, something like 70 of them,  and the human ‘authorities’ have decided that it is all the fault of wild foxes.  As with any really good detective story, we are given a set of clues and a central character who has the ability (with the help of older and wiser friends) to sort through the evidence and find the likely culprit.

The hero, Yowl, may be young but he is very intelligent and has learnt to understand human speech and written words, from watching television and reading the local paper!  However, at no time does he lose his character as an animal and his encounters with a ‘litter tray’ can be quite amusing.  I love the underlying humour and also the tensions that exist between the various species.  There are some real lessons to be learnt about accepting people who are different, showing empathy and treating others as you would wish to be treated.  It is definitely a recommended read for KS2 children.  I look forward to further adventures for this intrepid band of friends.

Author

About the author: Martin Penny is a cat lover originally from London, the son of a
BBC sound engineer who worked on the Goon Show, he
takes after his mother who used to say, ‘a home isn’t
complete without a cat’. The character of Yowl is based on
the tabby he got as soon as he left his parents’ home. Later in life, for over ten
years, Martin managed the flagship Oxfam Bookshop in Marylebone High Street
(London) which under his stewardship became one of the most profitable Oxfam
shops in the country. He has been living in Turkey since 2015 where he teaches
English part-time. Ideally, this enables him to dedicate himself to his ‘real’ job as
a writer. Already the author of a 7-book crime series, TAILs: The Animal
Investigators of London is his first children’s book. He has enjoyed the company
of Yowl and his friends so much (the pleasure is mutual) that he’s already writing
a new adventure, Yowl and the Fugitive from Justice. It seems that Martin’s
brave and enterprising animal friends aren’t going to leave us any time soon!