Nuts to You!
"Nuts to You!" is another wonderful classic by picture book author and illustrator Lois Ehlert who created such beautiful books as "Waiting for Wings" and "Planting a Rainbow."
The story of "Nuts to You!" begins as the narrator spies a squirrel in a tree. We never see the narrator as he observes squirrel's antics and attempts to get inside the house, but this helps create the suspense and keeps the focus on our main character: the squirrel. The curious critter hides in the flowers, digs up bulbs, climbs in the birdfeeder to steal seeds, looks in the window, and finally crawls through a hole in the narrator's window screen. The narrator then lures the feisty squirrel out the door with some nuts. The squirrel he takes the bait and gobbles them up. But the narrator still looks forward to the day the squirrel will try it again, and so he says he'll keep some nuts in his pocket, just in case.
All of the scenes are illustrated in Ehlert's colorful collage style, creating a multi-textured, glorious hodge-podge of visuals for kids to explore. To enhance the artwork, Ehlert has also placed identification captions for various plants and insects along the way, so curious little minds can learn more about garden environments. The rhyming text of the story itself is short and sweet, making it perfect for this young age group. There is also a section after the story called "Squirrel Talk" which contains helpful and interesting facts about squirrels, from their identifying body parts to their habitat and habits. It's a beautiful package of imagination and learning that I've read to my children for years.
