MOWMT 24: Squirrels, Porcupines, and Bears, oh my! with Erin Dealey
- rateyourstoryweb
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Squirrels, Porcupines, and Bears--oh my!
Mentor texts with animal characters and how the rules, as well as my upcoming book
Squirrel Draws Big Feelings evolved…
No animals allowed!
Twenty years ago, when I wrote Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox (Atheneum/S&S –illus. Hanako Wakiyama), people said anthropomorphic animal characters were a no-no. As you may have guessed, I got around that issue initially by writing parodies of nursery rhymes. More recently when Peter Easter Frog (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/ S&S, Illus. G. Brian Karas) hopped onto the pages, those “no animal” rules were long gone.
Shortly after that, came Bear and an SEL story. I wrote during the Pandemic which editors gently rejected because Covid “wasn’t going to be around very long…” (Ha!) Bear’s story was inspired by the gorgeous chalk art that my friend, illustrator Luciana Navarro Powell created on sidewalks near her Bellingham home to add some levity to our quarantine times. And yes, I tucked our Bear story away, but I truly felt that Luciana’s chalk art deserved to be in a book.
When there are too many bears…
The truth hit me when I was looking at Bear mentor texts. There are already so many wonderful Bear books on the shelves!
Big Bear Was Not the Same, by Joanna Rowland (illus. John Ledda / Beaming Books), is one of my favorite Bear + SEL picture books.
My takeaway: It’s possible to explore sensitive, traumatic emotions in a kid-friendly way.
Also — and sometimes the truth is hard to swallow -- Bear had way too much competition out there. What to do?
Pivot!
After switching my mc to a Playground, I thought--hmmm–what about a Squirrel?
It turns out there aren’t as many squirrel main characters, but this particular squirrel has a LOT of books with his name!
Author /illustrator Melanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel released in 2008 (Kids Can Press), with five books after that, and now there is a graphic novel series as well.
My takeaway: The humor of Scaredy Squirrel, with his plans to protect himself from just about everything, makes these books favorites with young readers.
The big question: How would our Squirrel be different? (No spoilers, but ours isn’t afraid to leave his tree. In fact, he might be the antithesis of Scaredy Squirrel, with the squirrelly way he runs around all over the place.)
This is when I thought of Porcupine, who has her own prickly issues. What if Squirrel and Porcupine tried to deal with their emotions together?
One of the most recent Porcupine picture books I could find is Penny Lu Porcupine by Katie Gilstrap, illus. Maribel Lechuga (Nancy Paulsen Books).
My Takeaways: This adorable book is in rhyme, as is our book. And wow –who knew porcupines were nearsighted? This fits right into the inciting incident in our book, which sets off the squirrelies, pricklies and Bear’s ROARful day.
You read that right. Bear came back. I mean, he started this whole project, right? It seemed only fair. Except, could Bear and Squirrel get along?
Short answer: Yes.
Case in point: Bear and Squirrel are Friends by Deb Pilutti (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books).
My takeaway: Pilutti gives us a fun, unexpected friendship, and I’m all about encouraging young readers to make friends and get along— exactly where my book’s THREE characters find themselves.
Which brings us back to chalk art.
There aren’t any animals in Sally Anne Garland’s The Chalk Garden (Sunbird Books), until the main character Emma fills the pavement in her backyard with an eco-system of chalk art.
My takeaway: There is magic and healing in chalk art, just like Luciana Navarro Powell’s original sidewalk art, and Lu and I –plus Squirrel, Porcupine, and Bear-- can’t wait to share our book, Squirrel Draws BIG Feelings (Beaming Books/ April 7, 2026) with readers young and old!
My blogpost prize: Your choice:
a. A 30-minute Zoom chat about anything writerly—for your class, your critique group, your manuscript, or YOU…
b. OR a signed copy of Squirrel Draws Big Feelings.
Bio: Erin Dealey's original career goal was Olympic Gold Medal tetherball player. When that didn't pan out, she became a teacher, theater director, actor, mom, playwright, poet, and author of 20+ children’s books (so far), including DEAR EARTH…From Your Friends in Room 5 (Harper Collins/ Illus. Luisa Uribe), honored with a NYSL Charlotte Award, and JUST FLOWERS ( Sleeping Bear / Kate Cosgrove) recipient of a Junior Master Gardiners’ Growing Good Kids Award. You can find her blog at erindealey.com and check out her plays for young adults at Uproar Theatrics. She lives in northern California with her husband.
Web site: erindealey.com Twitter: @ErinDealey
Insta: erindealey Pinterest: ErinDealey
And more atDealeyLinks
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