THOSE DARN SQUIRRELS!

Old Man Fookwire, a “grump” of the first order, hates everything, except for his birds. He paints their pictures and hopes his birdfeeder-bribe will convince them to avoid migration. Unfortunately, hoarding squirrels—the “fuzzy little geniuses” of the forest—devour the birds’ allotment, even snatching the treats dangling high above a clothesline. Fookwire shakes his fist and shouts, “those darn squirrels!” An innovative laser obstacle course, however, stumps the scurrying rodents, but with their final bite, the birds migrate anyway, leaving Fookwire forlorn—and the squirrels repentantly determined to make it up to him, as only fuzzy little geniuses can. Rubin’s pithy text adds comedic flair, though it is Salmieri’s watercolor, gouache and colored pencil illustrations that hilariously carry the backyard shenanigans. Bald Fookwire is a riot as the agitation builds, with his beakish nose, elongated neck and wiry limbs, and the squirrels, with their bloated bellies and contented smiles, are a flying hoot in this droll debut. (Picture book. 4-8)