Mr. Squirrel Finds A Treasure

Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite ★★★★★

Mr. Squirrel Finds A Treasure: A Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure is a well-written children’s book penned by Susan Marie Chapman and illustrated by Natalia Loseva. A group of animal friends wakes up to find litter in their neighborhood. When Mr. Squirrel finds some plastic lodged under something heavy, his friends help him in freeing it. Mr. Squirrel excitedly takes it back to the new home he is building for the upcoming bad weather. When the animals discover so much discarded trash from the humans, they proactively decide to put it to good use and arrange it to form a very important message for the future of our planet. When the media become involved, the combined effort by the animal friends makes it all worthwhile, not only to them but to all beings who share our planet.

Mr. Squirrel Finds A Treasure is one of those rare tales that not only had me deep in thought but also had me smiling toward the end of this delightful children’s tale - one which carries such a vital message to all who read it. Although littering is “easy” for any person too lazy to dispose of their trash properly, doing so creates a dangerous (and sometimes deadly) obstacle to the animals with whom we share the planet. Susan Marie Chapman’s inspiring words brought a smile to my face as I watched the animals do something positive which resulted in an incredible change to those who share our big blue and green planet. Not only does the litter create a problem for those who live here but it also changes the climate, the water levels of the ocean, the breathing quality of our air, and the actual ability to live. I believe that although Mr. Squirrel Finds A Treasure would be best received by those aged between 5-8, the tale carries a message so powerful that all who read it would enjoy the fruitful rewards it brings and change that could prolong the future of all creatures great and small.

This story teaches children about the dangers of littering on animals and the environment.
It is very well written so that children can understand the message and my 4 year old son loved it and asked lots of questions after we had finished it regarding litter and what we should do with our rubbish.

— Victoria J. rated it ★★★★★

Mr. Squirrel Finds a Treasure by Susan Marie Chapman is a cute children's book that discusses littering. This book shows how littering and plastic is harmful to animals. I liked the story and the bright illustrations. Mr. Squirrel Finds a Treasure does a good job explaining why littering is bad.

Natalia Loseva did a great job illustrating this book.

— Jessica K. rated it ★★★★

Grumpy The Iguana and The Green Parrot live in Flamingo park in Miami Beach where they share a tree together and are BFFs. One day they wake up to a scorching hot day. The heat is stifling and there is no breeze to be found. Oh my!

They notice that their friend Mr. Squirrel is straining to uncover something from underneath the bleachers. The two hurry over to see if they can be of help to him. Finally they have victory and Mr. Squirrel takes his coveted treasure and heads for home. Little does anyone know that the mysterious find will cause danger to Mr. Squirrel and once again his friends will have to come to the rescue.

The park is a mess with all kinds of garbage that has been tossed away and it's building up quickly. The friends see the carnage as a call to action. They become litter activists and all in their neighbourhood respond with garbage bags, brooms and sheer will power to come and clean up the area making it safe once again for all to use.
The illustrations are very well done, clear, bold colours and full of expression making the text come alive. The message is simple so kids can understand that littering needs to be irradicated for not only safety sake but for aesthetic sake also. Both humans and animals benefit from becoming good stewards of the environment. I recommend this book.

— Marilyn P. rated it ★★★★★

A lovely story that is easy to understand about the dangers of litter to animals.
Colourful eye catching illustrations too!
My 4 year old loved this book.

— Kirstie J. rated it ★★★★

I love the Grumpy Iguana books, and this is a cute little one about their friend Mr. Squirrel. Mr. Squirrel finds a treasure and needs Grumpy's help to get it out from under a rock. There is so much trash in the park that Grumpy and Parrot decide it's up to them to keep their park clean. I love the illustrations and how they're vibrant and look like water colors.

Additional Questions:

Is your library likely to purchase this title? Yes
Will you recommend this title through Readers’ Advisory, book clubs, events, etc? Yes
Do you nominate this title for the LibraryReads List? Yes

— Kaitlyn W. (Librarian) rated it ★★★★★

This is a children's book about a group of animal friends who find litter in the area in which they live. Mr Squirrel finds some plastic which he takes to his tree house as he thinks it is treasure. Unfortunately, he has some bother with it and his friends have to help him. All of the friends then set out to solve the issue of trash being in their park. My daughter and I enjoyed the story and the characters and we thought that the illustrations were lovely.

— Catherine C. rated it ★★★★