A SQUIRRELLY SITUATION by Jacqueline Kelly. Illus. by Jennifer L. Meyer. Calpurnia Tate Girl Vet series.  New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019.  100p,    Gr. 2-3    JUV

The same readers who enjoyed the adventure and humor of THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE, Newbery Honor Book in 2010, will also like the Calpurnia Tate Girl Vet series.  This turn-of-the-century heroine always finds herself somewhere between the rules of the house and her overwhelming love for small creatures.  Her brother Travis, also an animal lover, is usually in trouble of his own making.  This time, he finds a baby squirrel that has fallen from the nest and brings it home to nurse it back to health.  Fluffy the squirrel and Thud, the new kitten in the house, think they are brothers, as well as family pets, and keep the family busy with their antics all summer long.  Travis takes center stage at the end of the story with a compassionate gesture toward an ostracized classmate.  The first of this five-book series is titled SKUNKED!, followed by COUNTING SHEEP, WHO GIVES A HOOT?, A PRICKLY PROBLEM, and A SQUIRRELLY SITUATION.  Meyer's charcoal drawings are subtle, but add to the reader's experience by showing what a farmhouse looked like in the early 1900's.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI