Harry's Squirrel Trouble

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Author(s)

Publisher

Harper Collins Children's Books

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

August 09, 2022

ISBN

978-0062747754

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Harry, the mischievous little white dog with black spots, isn’t happy when the children blame him for a squirrel’s bad behavior. When he tries to explain what happened, he only makes it worse. Can Harry find a way out of trouble?

Harry's Squirrel Trouble is a Level One I Can Read and Guided Reading Level J, which means it’s perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

Created in the style of Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham, this is an irresistible I Can Read story featuring a classic children’s book character—perfect for young dog lovers and fans of Harry the Dirty Dog!

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Cute and Easy Read!

November 04, 2022

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Harry absolutely loves his yard and wants nothing more than to be a good dog. One day, a squirrel takes up residence in his yard and that’s when things take a turn. The squirrel destroys the flowers, digs holes, and more while Harry just wants to enjoy his surroundings. He wants to stop the squirrel but the only thing his endeavors lead to is the shift of blame to him. But Harry is a good dog and needs to prove to his owners who the real culprit is. If only he could speak human.

HARRY’S SQUIRREL PROBLEM is a cute and silly story about a dog who just wants to enjoy his yard. His fun is spoiled by a squirrel and the reader gets to witness the classic dog versus squirrel. With that being said, it gives off some Tom and Jerry vibes and my daughter and I love it. It’s an easy to read book that’s perfect for early readers. My daughter’s six years old and enjoyed learning to read this book. The illustrations are adorable and soft so they don’t distract the child’s eyes from the words.

Final Verdict: Overall, HARRY’S SQUIRREL PROBLEM is a cute story for early readers that’ll leave them smiling and laughing. It’s perfect for fans of animals or for those who have pet dogs.

Bethany Wicker, Listings Manager & Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 840 reviews

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Great addition to a classic series

September 01, 2022

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

In this early leveled reader based off the original 1955 Harry the Dirty Dog, we find Harry living happily with his boy and girl, but having a small problem. There is a squirrel in the year constantly doing bad things for which Harry is blamed! Harry tries desperately to alert his children to the antics of the squirrel, but they just get angry at him for barking. Laundry hanging on the line is destroyed and tomatoes are eaten, so Harry, being the clever pup that he is, decides to take matters into his own hands. He uses a hose in the yard to make a mud puddle, and entices the squirrel to tread through it. With mud on his paws, the squirrels runs over the clean laundry, through the yard, and even over the top of Harry's dog house. When his children realize that the squirrel is the perpetrator of the various crimes for which they have blamed their innocent dog, the children apologize and all is right in the world.

Good Points

The original four books by Bloy and Zion were always favorites in my house, and Driscoll and Joshaghani do an excellent job of recreating the style while freshening it up a bit. There's a timeless feel to the book that I love; there's no technology or modern concerns, just an evil squirrel and a dog trying to fight against him. I wouldn't have been able to tell that these weren't the original illustrations.

Harry is always clever, the squirrel is evil, and the book is gently funny in a way that young readers will appreciate. There are plenty of details on the pages that will make read alouds fun when asking children to look for objects in the background, which I always enjoy. My favorite illustration was the squirrel chewing on a striped sock.

I'm a huge fan of the I Can Read books, and they are a great way to build reading skills. I know this because my parents gave me a subscription to the books fifty years ago, and I also gave my daughter piles of these books, and we're both strong readers!

For a more sympathetic look at the complex relationship between these two animals, look for the Ehrenberg Pearl and Squirrel series, and hand this to readers who enjoyed Coe's younger Fenway series, Butler's Kayla and King, and Braddock's beginning graphic novels involved Peanut, Butter, and Crackers.