It seems to me, anyway, that these stories are unique in that the little lovable and slightly naughty baby flying squirrel matures and becomes a responsible adult who the community looks up to, leans on for advice and solving the problems they face. He is loved and admired. What more can we hope for as we go through life ourselves? The many life lessons included are not stressed, but are subtly placed to mean a lot by saying a little.
The books are on Amazon again. Here’s a shortened link: https://tinyurl.com/yc4uw9kd. I’m really sorry that they are not offered as a bundle or a set. I don’t know how that will be solved, but it’s something I will be asking for.
Three books, one little life from babyhood to becoming a parent himself, ‘The SHELBY F. SQUIRREL Series’ GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD! Why not join the people who have given the set to the parents of a new baby and gift the arrival of a wee one with SHELBY?
The SHELBY F SQUIRREL Series: As your child grows, so does Shelby!
BOOK 1
The Complete Adventures ofSHELBY F. SQUIRREL and Friends
Age 4-10 (Shelby is 3 months old to 2 years)
BOOK 2
The Great FOREST CAPER
Age 8-11 (Shelby is an adolescent)
BOOK 3
Where is Virginia?
Age 9-12 (Shelby, an adult, is now a father)
Available on Amazon.com #readabook #theauthorsshow #childrensbooks #nature #family #love #learning
“Stop that, you crazy animal! You’re covering me in snow! Stop it right now or I’ll knock you right out of that tree!’ Shelby, with that, loses his grip on the fir bough and plummets, landing on a firm surface, the horse’s back!
Shelby is having such fun, and suddenly this very, very large animal Is scaring him out of his wits, and when he asks Shelby what kind of creature he is, Shelby can’t muster enough calm to reply; instead he hiccups loudly and everything he says is through a dreadful bout of the stutters..
The horse’s opinion – “Would you look at that! It’s a rat and it thinks it’s a bird!!!” And then this strange beast starts laughing so hard it nearly shakes Shelby off his precarious perch, but the laughing continues, whinnying and neighing something awful.
Shelby starts jumping up and down, shouting through his worst ever hiccups, “I’m not (HIC!) not a rat! No, (HIC!) I’m not, I’m not a rat!!! I’m a ffflying (HIC!) squirrel….” and then says apologetically, “I didn’t mean to throw snow at you (HIC!) , I didn’t even see you there!!”
To sum it up: The horse is from the nearby farm, and Mother has known him all her life! She and Darby appear, grinning sloppily, they all say their hellos and Charlie says “Hop on, there’s plenty of room on my back!” and so they do and have just the best time they’ve had together. Ever!
What did Shelby learn that day? Oh, this is a big one!! He learned to stay aware of his surroundings; Charlie scolded him quite roundly for that, and Mother had her own special talk later on.
#readabook #theauthorsshow #childrensbooks #nature #family #learning flutesandflyingsquirrels.com Books available now for Christmas giving. Between FedEx and personal pick up there is still time for lots of kiddies to meet ‘The SHELBY F. SQUIRREL Series’.
Contact me here : flutesandflyingsquirrels.com if you are thinking yes to giving a set to your kids, or to a family you know that has a new baby. In no time at all the stories in BOOK ONE are going to be favourites!!
It was all white, and had dark eyes, and the most amazing long ears that flopped all about.
Shelby thinks he’s lost his sight when the world seems totally white one morning. But he can see inside their nest…. Gradually the familiar trees emerge as he lets his eyes get used to the vast whiteness, so he dares to fly to the pine tree where he often plays tag. The branches are slippery so he falls, down, down, down, and lands in a heap of snow, whereupon the tree sheds its disturbed load on top of him.
He cries woefully for help, and the result is:
Shelby stopped crying and hiccupping in the middle of a gulp and stared into the face of a new creature. It was all white and had dark eyes and the most amazing long ears that flopped all about. Now it was hopping madly in a circle and loudly proclaiming, “Here we go again!! Another kid out in the snow without permission! Now stop your whining and listen up! This is called snow. SNOW! Got it? It’s the same as rain except in winter it is called snow!” With that this strange giant-eared animal shook out a huge back foot and began to dig Shelby out! He turned his back on Shelby and dug and dug and sent up great plumes of snow until Shelby was free again. Shelby started to hiccup again as he tried to say thank you. “Now, never mind, I’m just being a good neighbour! I move into this forest every winter and now here I find you half buried. But now you’re okay and you need to go home and learn how to manage in this weather! Tell your mother the Snowshoe Rabbit rescued you!” And off he hopped into the whiteness of the woods. Up Shelby climbed back into the safety of home. Mother hugged him for a long time and said, “Oh, Shelby, Shelby, come and get dry and I will tell you and Darby all about what happens in winter in the forest!”
“What do you think you’re doing?” It was an enormous black bird with a mean look in his eye. “What kind of silly animal are you anyway?”
Today’s glimpse is when Shelby suggests that perhaps they can cross a busy street by following the children while a crossing guard is taking them over. He encounters a nasty crow when he runs up what looks like a tree but is joined to wires where it stops abruptly!
“I…..I…..I’m a squirrel! A flying squirrel!!”, he managed to blurt out between hiccups, remembering to speak carefully around his stuffed cheeks. The big black crow let out a scornful squawk.
“What? Do you think you’re a bird? Oh, brother, now I’ve seen everything!” and he moved closer. “Let’s see you fly, then!”
My favourite quotes or situations from the Series, in daily snippets…. This is Shelby’s Flying Lesson.
Soon he was on the edge of a parking lot behind a tall building that seemed to stretch all the way to the sky.
“Oh, no!” cried Shelby. “I’ll never be able to do that, I just know it!” and before either of them could stop him he scrambled down the tree and across the grass. (Shelby had been reminded that doing so was strictly taboo only moments prior to this mad escape: a dog’s growl, a mysterious little moving room with sliding doors, the Super with his jangling keys, escape into that odd little room, an upper hallway and an open apartment door that looked like freedom except for the cat….)
Then: a miracle!! He just threw himself off the balcony rail toward that tree. His little legs stretched out and on each side of his body the loose skin became a parachute. AND he steered by tilting his tail just so…
Taking huge hiccupping breaths, Shelby stammered, “Oh, Mother! Oh, Darby! I can fly! I can fly! I did it! And I promise to listen to you from now on! No more running away for me!” (Well, he WAS sorry, and he DID mean it…..)
I am very excited to tell you that ‘The SHELBY F. SQUIRREL Series’ is set to move on up in the world!!
Thanks to The Authors Show at https://wnbnetworkwest.com/, Don McCauley, Danielle Hampson, and the very professional group that edits and makes the whole thing possible, SHELBY is being launched into orbit, coming to you from many directions!
First of all, I would like to invite you to listen to this interview produced a few short days ago: https://wnbnetworkwest.com/EleanorLawrie . I hope to keep up a regular daily blog posting to keep everyone up to date on what is happening. PS wish me luck on that…
Remember: ‘Shelby Grows With Your Child!’ Reading to your 3-year-old will lead to reading independently as skill develops. BOOK 1 tells how Shelby grows into a responsible youngster from his first flying lesson to meeting the pretty little Petra, who eventually becomes his mate.
BOOK 2, ‘The Great FOREST CAPER’ is for readers aged 8 to 11, and BOOK 3, ‘Where is Virginia?’ is for readers aged 9 to 12. These are approximations only, of course. Every person is different and learning is also a personal thing; developing at the rate that is right for each reader.
Just to say hello, and update you. I haven’t posted in all these months because of a disaster caused by Amazon.
I called one February day in 2023 to ask to have incorrect Prime billing that had gone on for six months and I was rather fed up with it.
The agent managed to delete both my KDP and my personal account pages!! And nobody at Amazon could correct her mistake for me. Thanks for nothing, Amazon.
In all this long, long time in between I’ve been trying out different ideas for self-publishing without any luck. None that made me happy, anyway.
The latest update I can give you is that I did finally get signed in again, and had to RE-upload my books. BUT the lastest hurdle might be the biggest:
Two of my books have been pirated. My copyrights have been violated. My property is being sold by someone else. So the battle now is to get those removed. First step was that I UNpublished my own so they are not sitting there beside those illegal postings.
The goal is to upload onto IngramSpark (already done) and hope they can post them on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which is their usual custom.
All this has become so difficult and frustrating that I now have help in a marketing/publicist specialist who has much more experience than I do.
It was a clear evening and the F. Squirrel family was sitting on a pine branch not far from the nest. They were contentedly munching on some lichen they had stripped off a nearby tree trunk. Suddenly their senses came to full alert, when there was scuffling down below them, and deep male voices.
A few seconds later a sort of parade appeared in the open space between the tall trees. There were three men carrying what looked like boxes, but the sides of them weren’t solid. Shelby thought he caught a glimpse of movement in one of them.
Mother signalled him and Darby to stay still and keep quiet, so they watched as the strange scene unfolded.
There was a bit of discussion between the three men and after some moments, the three boxes were placed on the ground in the middle of the little clearing. Each man fiddled with the end of his particular box and stood back, making a quick visual check on the surroundings.
“They should be safe here,” one of them said. “Looks pretty quiet right now.” With that they all trooped out of the glade and disappeared from view.
Shelby held his breath, knowing he had to prevent a hiccup attack! Who knew what was in those boxes? All three flying squirrels stayed absolutely still, eyes glued to the forest floor.
After some rattling noises, with the boxes being shaken about quite a bit, the end of one of them dropped open and a sharp nose poked out into the night. It was followed by a head with two bright, glittering eyes that were wearing a mask!
When the rest came out, it appeared as a round grayish animal, with a fluffy tail that had wide black rings around it. The unusual creature quickly moved to one of the other cages, which was actually what the boxes were, and juggled and wiggled and uttered little squeaks, until the end of the cage dropped down and out came another one that was just the same, but a bit smaller.
The two of them now hurried to the third cage and opened the end with no trouble. They were fast learners, that was obvious. Out of the last cage emerged two roly-poly miniature versions of the others. They snuffled each others’ faces and necks for a few seconds, seeming glad to be together, safe and sound. Then they waddled off a bit awkwardly, slipping into the darkness of the evening.
Shelby and his family darted back to their nest, wondering about what they had witnessed. They settled in for a snooze to be ready for the next hunt through the trees for food.
“Hey!” a rather gruff voice shook all three of them awake. “Come up here and take a look, this would be a good nest!” And then a sharp nose poked its way into the opening of the old woodpecker hole, eyes quickly darting around.
Mother F. Squirrel answered calmly, “I’m sorry to say, but this is our nest. You have to find another place!”
By then there were two masked faces filling the doorway, whiskers quivering.
“Oh, my!! Excuse my bad manners! I am Ringtail Raccoon and this is my mate, Lottie. We had a nice place to live in the city but were trapped and brought here. We’re just looking for a new place to live. Our twins are Molly and Polly. Come and say hello, you two!”
Two miniatures of Ringtail and Lottie appeared in the nest opening, whereupon the F. Squirrel family was properly introduced. And Shelby broke in eagerly, with a hiccup, “I know a place! I know a place! (Hic!)”
So began an eerie procession through the forest, the three flying squirrels gliding from branch to branch, Shelby in the lead, with the whole raccoon family trying hard to keep up as they trotted along on the ground. Shelby led them to a huge fallen oak tree that was mostly hollow and sat back while the strangers wandered into the opening, pushing this way and that, with little happy squeaks from all four of them.
Just then one of the little raccoons suddenly jumped off the end of the nearest branch, and landed with a plop on the ground. She lay sniffling loudly and woefully.
“Whatever made you do that?” said Ringtail, running to help. “Are you okay, Molly? Speak to me!!”
“Oh, Papa, I was just trying to fly like Shelby and Darby and their mother. I want to do that, too! It looks like tons of fun!”
With great patience, that surprised the F. Squirrels, Ringtail explained to Molly, “You can’t fly because you are a raccoon! Raccoons don’t fly! Birds, bees, butterflies and flying squirrels fly but raccoons don’t fly, Molly!”
He continued, “There’s nothing wrong with being what you are, you know. You are a perfectly fine raccoon and Shelby is a perfectly fine flying squirrel. You can still be friends. You don’t have to be exactly the same to do that!”
“Am I ever glad you didn’t try that from higher up, Molly!!” hiccupped Shelby happily. “We’ll have lots of fun playing in the forest, don’t worry about that!”
And all four youngsters were soon romping around, both in the trees and on the ground.
Mother F. Squirrel smiled warmly at Ringtail and Lottie and said, “Welcome to our little corner of the woods. I’m so glad Shelby noticed this old fallen tree and remembered where it was. Good for you, Shelby!”
Oh, Shelby literally glowed as they all joined in to agree with her. He thought, I could get a real swelled head after this!
(I hope you enjoyed reading this story. I like it for a few reasons -1) it’s a good thing that the family of raccoons has been moved from the city instead of being poisoned. 2) Shelby’s mother is very polite when Ringtail’s face appears in their nest hole, because she knows they will need a safe home as soon as possible. So three lessons there: a) helping to teach about a new wild animal, b) the politeness intead of being rude to Ringtail who is probably desperate to find a home, and c) Shelby’s immediated eagerness to help – another gentle point for a child to hear and remember, be willing to help others! I still love the bit where Molly jumps into thin air, hoping to fly like Shelby, and hits the ground with a nasty bump; I like how concerned Ringtail is, worried she has hurt herself and asking her why she did it. This certainly helps the youngsters to become friends., and d) even though they are different from each other they know they will be friends.)
Set of 3 books, The SHELBY F. SQUIRREL Series, is $45 with postage extra. I have a good supply with me, so please contact me directly if you are interested in having these books for your family or as a gift to another family. Please use the CONTACTS page on this website. My email and Messenger info is known to many friends, and those are also excellent ways to reach me.
Meanwhile, please browse through the other pages; lots of info about me, the books, samples, and more. The blog posts go back a long way, I’m sorry only the dates show. If I can find a way to include the titles on that list I will!
Nope, it’s NOT too soon to think about the kids on your Christmas shopping list! BUT, it IS the PERFECT time to pick up some great reading material for those back-to-school youngsters.
“..well written, with excellent themes of friendship, family, independence, growth and learning, as well as a wonderful overriding focus on nature and the environment. The stories are fun, informative, full of strong values and have a certain timeless quality about them. Shelby F. Squirrel will be part of my classroom library for years to come.” Dean Purdie, BA, MS Ed, Gr 5 Teacher, Welland Ontario
“I just thought I’d let you know how much the boys, particularly the eight-year-old, enjoyed Shelby. Boys can be very noisy and it was good having them absorbed in Shelby and being quiet!” Michael, grandfather of 3 boys, Isle of Wight
The series is explained for you here: All characters continue to grow up, plots become more complex, stories contain increasingly mature subject matter. BOOK 1 is 24 adventures ideal for bedtime story-reading, BOOK 2 and BOOK 3 are action-packed mysteries of approx 12 chapters each.
The SHELBY F SQUIRREL SeriesAs your child grows, so does Shelby!
BOOK 1The Complete Adventures ofSHELBY F. SQUIRREL and Friends Age 4-10 (Shelby is 3 months old to 2 years)
BOOK 2The Great FOREST CAPER Age 8-11 (Shelby is an adolescent)
BOOK 3Where is Virginia? Age 9-12 (Shelby is an adult, and becomes a father)
The SERIES of THREE: $45.00 CAD Separately: COMPLETE SHELBY $25.00, FOREST CAPER $15.00, VIRGINIA $15.00 All books personally autographed (Postage extra)
Please use the Contact Information page on this website if you wish to purchase SHELBY books, or Message me on Facebook.
Eleanor Lawrie, Author 