It's springtime, Mr. Squirrel!

K-Gr 2-Mr. Squirrel, Hedgehog, and Bear are back in Meschenmoser's latest delightful picture book installment. Here, spring has sprung and Bear shouts to his friends, 'Let's lie in the sun, stroll through the meadows, and fill our tummies with fine food!'" Mr. Squirrel enthusiastically digs in but Hedgehog has lost his appetite. "He had been down at the pond...And there he had seen.a lovely lady hedgehog." His first instinct is to flee, but Mr. Squirrel suggests that the best way to win the heart of a lady hedgehog is to show everyone how brave and strong you are. Next, a series of wordless panels depict Mr. Squirrel's efforts to make Hedgehog look fierce. Readers will laugh out loud as the sweet, befuddled creature only ends up looking sillier and sillier. Then they set off to find "a suitable opponent." The intrepid duo, lead by Mr. Squirrel of course, head off into the woods to stalk and frighten off some mice, birds, and rabbits. Not satisfied, they decide they need a more imposing opponent. Who better than Bear! After Bear falls asleep, a reluctant Hedgehog, holding a simple bouquet of daffodils, is pushed by Mr. Squirrel into approaching the lady hedgehog by the pond-only to discover that she's just an old hairbrush. The illustrations tell much of the story and provide hints into the characters' personalities; the artist expertly depicts the animals' emotions in their expressions and posture. The pacing is spot-on with page turns alternating between text and wordless spreads. VERDICT This gem of a story is packed with humor and emotion. Meschenmoser's utterly charming pencil illustrations are sparingly drawn, yet loaded with oodles of details for readers to pore over again and again.-Megan Kilgallen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Mr. Squirrel and his friends celebrate a new season.Emerging, blinking, into a bright and sunny day, Mr. Squirrel accepts the bear's advice on how to celebrate spring: "Let's lie in the sun, stroll through the meadows, and fill our tummies with fine food!" His friend the hedgehog, however, is too distracted to join in. He's spotted a "lovely lady hedgehog." An adorably pensive Mr. Squirrel suggests that seeking "fame and glory" would be one way to woo her. A series of wordless pages showcases the amusingly odd outfits he cobbles together for them out of natural materials. Unfortunately, the grass skirts they choose reinforce negative stereotypes. Individual readers will need to decide whether that misstep outweighs the wonderful artwork and slyly humorous text. The scratchy colored-pencil illustrations charm as always with interesting, realistic details of flora and fauna as well as visual jokes. The imagined scene of the two small animals pictured as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza may be over the heads of young listeners, and likewise the central conceit linking springtime to thoughts of love. Their play assault on the bear, however, and the upshot of the hedgehog's courtship should provoke laughs from a broad range of ages.Fans of Mr. Squirrel will welcome his return and look forward to future seasons of fun; those who come to this story first may or may not be inspired to seek out others. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.