Bird & Squirrel On the Run! (Bird & Squirrel Series #1)

by James Burks

Overview

Bird and Squirrel outwit Cat and become best friends in this zany adventure.

Squirrel is afraid of his own shadow. Bird doesn't have a care in the world. And Cat wants to eat Bird and Squirrel. Of course, he'll have to catch them first, and that's not going to be easy.

Join this trio as they head south for the winter in a hilarious road trip. But watch out! Cat is waiting around every bend, and he's one pesky feline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545312837
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Series:	Bird & Squirrel Series , #1
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	GN520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

James Burks spent 15 years working in the animation industry on various movies and television shows, including The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Space Jam, The Iron Giant, Wow Wow Wubbzy, and most recently on Fan Boy & Chum Chum. James is the author of the Bird & Squirrel graphic novel series for Scholastic, as well as the illustrator for the Branches series Haggis and Tank Unleashed. James lives in Valencia, California.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Bird & Squirrel:

"The easy-to-follow panels offer a great introduction for readers interested in trying their first graphic novel, and the warm, engaging art has the same vibrant energy of a beloved Saturday morning cartoon." — Booklist

"The character design is astounding." — Kirkus Reviews

"Burks' comic-strip-like panels utilize zesty colors, bold compositions, and varying perspectives to create plenty of visual interest." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A bright medley of friendship, problem-solving, and identity ideal for emerging readers looking for the next step up from leveled readers." — Kirkus Reviews

"Burks continues to prove a wonderful storyteller with his vivid artwork, which will engage the most reluctant of readers. A must-own for graphic novel collections." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Burks manages to turn The Odd Couple into an adventure story. The Odd Couple is one of the most important stories in the history of Western culture. Oscar and Felix were archetypes when they were called Bert and Ernie and when they were called the Grasshopper and the Ant. In that tradition, Squirrel is a fussbudget who's afraid of beetles, spiders, running out of acorns and forgetting his toothbrush. Bird isn't afraid of anything and can usually be found flying upside down. The story only works if the characters get on each other's nerves. The problem here is that it works much too well. Bird is more annoying than Bert and Felix put together. Bird never stops talking, even when being chased by an enormous cat. That's the moment when Bird says, "Is it true that dogs are smarter than cats?" Some readers may decide to ignore the dialogue and just look at the pictures, which are so cinematic that you can almost see the cat's whiskers twitching. The character design is astounding. Squirrel's head is shaped like a little acorn (complete with cap), and even the trees look like fractal patterns, spiraling off the page. They say a picture is worth a thousand words; here's one story that would be better with no words at all. (Graphic adventure. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews