Nuts About Squirrels

A Guide to Co-Existing with- and Even Appreciating- Your Bushy-Tailed Friends
by Richard E. Mallery

When I first started reading this book, the constant humor really annoyed me and I thought I might not finish it. But then I picked up Solving Squirrel Problems, and some things in that book were even more irritating. So I came back to Nuts About Squirrels with a more open mind. This little volume is absolutely packed with information about squirrels. Mostly it talks about the hundreds of ways in which people try to stop squirrels from raiding birdfeeders (and pointing out why they all fail) but there's also info on squirrels in history, hilarious accidents squirrels have caused, anecdotes about people who become obsessed with chasing off squirrels, facts about different kinds of squirrels, instructions on how to feed squirrels (instead of persecute them) and a plethora of jokes featuring squirrels. In fact, the jokes are scattered so liberally throughout the book sometimes it was difficult to tell where the author was sharing factual tidbits or exaggerating for humor. In spite of how tedious it became to wade through the hyperboles and puns, I did learn a lot about squirrels. Some of the more interesting bits: early American colonists used to pay taxes with red squirrel tails, some squirrels gnaw on headstones, and there are a number of logging terms named after squirrels. If you're interested in squirrels at all, and want some laughs, this is a nice little book.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 168 pages, 2000