Squirrel - by Nancy Castaldo (Paperback)

About the Book

Squirrels are a common sight, seemingly everywhere in wild and urban nature. Their chattering antics in city parks delight us while their raids on our backyard gardens and birdfeeders never fail to exasperate. But squirrels are more than amusing backyard entertainers, and few of us know much about them or fully appreciate their role in keeping the environment healthy. As stress on the natural world intensifies, should we be paying more attention to the plight of squirrels?

In Squirrel, Nancy Castaldo shines new light on this familiar backyard mammal, exploring their staggering diversity (they're found on all continents but Antarctica) and the many surprising ways they shape our world, our communities, and our cultures. Squirrel is accessible and entertaining, perfect for anyone who has felt exasperation, curiosity, and kinship with our bushy-tailed rodent neighbors.

Book Synopsis

Squirrels are a common sight, seemingly everywhere in wild and urban nature. Their chattering antics in city parks delight us while their raids on our backyard gardens and birdfeeders never fail to exasperate. But squirrels are more than amusing backyard entertainers, and few of us know much about them or fully appreciate their role in keeping the environment healthy. As stress on the natural world intensifies, should we be paying more attention to the plight of squirrels?

In Squirrel, Nancy Castaldo shines new light on this familiar backyard mammal, exploring their staggering diversity (they're found on all continents but Antarctica) and the many surprising ways they shape our world, our communities, and our cultures. Each chapter explores an aspect of squirrels and their close and sometimes fraught association with humans: their importance to myriad ecosystems through sophisticated food-caching strategies; their introduction to nineteenth-century urban parks as adorable ambassadors for nature; their complicated global status as both invasive and endangered; their role as celebrated cultural icons and social media memes; and ultimately, why we must prevent population declines and protect their well-being while we can. Like other wildlife species, squirrels are increasingly stressed by climate change, and their speculative fate may foreshadow our own. The book includes a detailed bibliography, an exhaustive list of squirrel species and their status, and tips for coexisting peaceably with squirrels in our yards and neighborhoods. Chapters are introduced by exquisitely drawn historical illustrations.

Review Quotes

"A light-hearted and informative look at the ecological importance of these furry--and sometimes exasperating--neighbors."-- "Adirondack Life"

"Accounts of squirrel interactions with humans (love 'em or hate 'em!) make for amusing reading...Chapters are headlined with vintage artwork of familiar squirrels, further deepening our fascination and affection for these ubiquitous backyard friends."-- "Booklist, starred"

"Charming, thoughtful, and gorgeously rendered, Castaldo's Squirrel delivers the very best of classical nature writing with a modern twist. If we can learn to love and protect these unheralded, quotidian creatures, perhaps we do indeed stand a chance against the larger uncertainties we collectively face."--Karen Pinchin, author of internationally bestselling "Kings of Their Own Ocean"

"They're ubiquitous but mysterious, adorable but sometimes reviled, ordinary but endlessly surprising. Almost everyone sees squirrels daily, yet we know almost nothing about these acrobatic backyard mammals. Thank you, Nancy Castaldo, for this delightful, riveting, thought-provoking book, and for finally giving squirrels the attention they deserve. I'll be thinking and talking about Squirrel for a long time."--Sy Montgomery, author of "Of Time and Turtles"

About the Author

Nancy Castaldo is a naturalist, environmental educator, and the author of more than two dozen books for young readers. Her books have garnered starred reviews, the Eureka Award for Nonfiction, the Green Earth Book Award, and Sigurd F. Olsen Nature Writing honors, among others. Nancy has also authored articles about nature for a variety of print and online publications. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and on the International Wildlife Coexistence Network Council. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband and rescued Bichon.