One of the Grand Canyon State's most acclaimed journalists, Jana Bommersbach has been a fixture in Arizona media since the early 1970s, making her mark in both broadcast and print journalism. A North Dakota native, she attended graduate school at the University of Michigan before relocating to Phoenix in 1972. Her first book, The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, was a national bestseller and was named Arizona's One Book AZ selection in 2010. A Squirrel's Tale is her first picture book. Jeff Yesh is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer whose award-winning work has been featured in multiple children's books. Born and raised in Indiana, Jeff graduated from Indiana State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Based in Carmel, Indiana, Jeff enjoys spending time outdoors--biking, camping and attending baseball games--with his wife and two daughters.
"...As a writer and former education official and social studies coordinator for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, I often recommended materials for teachers in my state. I also recommend this book. I believe everyone growing up in North Dakota has watched squirrels with interest and amusement. Bommersbach's book captures the thoughts most of us have had pondering what is going on inside their minds as they scamper about. As with all of Bommersbach's other works, a job well done." -- Curt Eriksmoen, syndicated newspaper columnist and author "Mr. Disney has shown us there is no limit to the power of a creative imagination. He started with a mouse named Mickey. Ms. Bommersbach has a squirrel named Shirlee. This is an enchanting tale of a parent's concerns for her young children, Sammy and Sally about to set foot in the real world. As is often the case, the girl, Sally, is bolder than the timid boy, Sammy. How is Shirlee to help Sammy overcome his fear and find his courage? This is a dilemma that many parents must face and walk the fine line of deciding when to push and when to back off. It is a risky decision of great consequence which can be life-altering for the good or for the bad. There are big lessons in this small story. Well done, Ms. Bommersbach!" -- Alex Cord, Actor & Author "Not only is this a great fall read, but this story is also a great resource for teachers and parents. In fact, the book includes a curriculum guide! After reading the story you and your child can engage in reading, writing, and/or listening activities." -- Angela, The Children's Nook "Bommersbach really has the gift of story-telling. She weaves a story about the life of a squirrel family that is both interesting and believable. Her use of descriptive words really makes the story come alive. She magically weaves facts about the squirrels in a natural path to follow the story which really is what made this book special. I also enjoy the Curriculum Guide in the back - which as a homeschooling Mom just made my job easier! It is like getting a little unit study included with this wonderful book!" -- Lisa Rupertus, A RUP Life We've always been readers. Since the kid's were little we've filled their bookshelves with delightful books. From board books to chapter books to novels we've read them all! Now that we are homeschoolers I look at books in almost a new light. I ask questions about the book. Is there a lesson, Is there something to learn, or is it just for fun? I love when I can find a book that meets all three! Bommersbach really has the gift of story-telling. She weaves a story about the life of a squirrel family that is both interesting and believable. Her use of descriptive words really makes the story come alive. She magically weaves facts about the squirrels in a natural path to follow the story which really is what made this book special. I also enjoy the Curriculum Guide in the back - which as a homeschooling Mom just made my job easier! It is like getting a little unit study included with this wonderful book! -- Lisa Rupertus, A RUP Life One of my greatest pleasures is cuddling with my children. My oldest child is a cuddle bug by nature and his younger siblings often follow his lead and pile close to me if I sit down. Cold weather is the perfect excuse to cuddle on the couch by the fire with a good book, so as soon as the weather cooled down I was on the search for some new fall children's books to read with my little ones. 'A Squirrel's Story: A True Tale' is a new book by Jana Bommersbach. The title of this story immediately caught my attention. Squirrels can be quite entertaining creatures so I was definitely curious as to what this story entailed. It also raised a very interesting question, 'What would you say if you could speak squirrel?' This story is told from the point of view of a female squirrel named Shirlee. She is the mamma to two baby squirrels, Sally and Sammy. This is a sweet story about a mamma's love for her family. This cute mamma squirrel decides to raise her babies in a bird house to keep them safe from a big black cat. Author, Jana Bommersbach actually got the idea for this book from her own mother. You can find out where the inspiration came from in the short interview with the author in the video below. Not only is this a great fall read, but this story is also a great resource for teachers and parents. In fact, the book includes a curriculum guide! After reading the story you and your child can engage in reading, writing, and/or listening activities. If you want to get creative, there is a great list of activities you can do that are related to this story. My son really liked these activities. Additional online resources are provided in this section of the book including a website you can visit to hear the sound that a gray squirrel makes! I personally love to explore nature with my kids. It is fun to see them make discoveries. This is a great book to read on a nice fall day because you can go outside and explore nature. Search for nuts, flowers, bugs, and more! You can go to a park or simply explore your own backyard. After all, Shirlee the squirrel raised her family right in Ruby and Willie's Backyard! -- Angela - The Children's Nook I don't speak wood duck, but if I did, I'd bet that bird was scolding, 'What do you think you're doing in a house meant for me? Don't you know that squirrels don't live in birdhouses? Shirelee recants in Jana Bommersbach's children's book, A Squirrel's Story: A True Tale. This forty page letter-sized paperback book is targeted toward six to ten year olds and has no profanity, scary scenes or violence. Although it contains extensive reading on each page, young ones may enjoy listening over several days. After the story, there is a curriculum guide that includes a reading, writing, listening, and creating section with various activities and educational suggestions. The last few pages recommend exploring nature, learning more online, author and illustrator biographies, publisher information, and an order form. Based on a true story, Shirlee is a squirrel living in a backyard in North Dakota. She meets a very mean and fat cat who she teases and taunts as she climbs higher in nearby tree branches. Wanting to make a safe, cozy home, she notices humans Rudy and Willie building bird houses in their backyard. Although they make a house for a wood duck, Shirlee chases the fowl away since she and her two children have found a new nice home. Safe from the big cat, daughter Sally and son Sammy are happy inside the birdhouse, as Shirlee teaches that they are gray squirrels, not red ones, and how to make a loud long chirp as an alarm. Although Sally is more adventurous, Sammy never wants to leave his comfortable nest. The children learn how to lick or rub their scent on nuts and bury them so they can be found during the winter. The relieved Shirlee learns that Rudy takes the mean cat far away so she does not have to worry any longer. When both squirrels are old enough, Sally eagerly leaves the birdhouse, but Sammy adamantly refuses. Rudy and Willie watch the mother squirrel physically push Sammy out of the nest and, when he falls on the plush grass, he is happy he did. Besides the story being unique about a squirrel family actually living in a birdhouse where they do not normally reside, the fun-filled activities and learning tools at the end of the book will delight both the new and more experienced reader. -- Conny Crisalli - Bookpleasures.com We all do what our moms ask us to do,eventually. For Phoenix writer Jana Bommersbach, that meant tackling an unfamiliar literary genre and reaching out to a whole new audience. The result, A Squirrel's Story, A True Tale, is a delightful picture book with a playful touch and profound messages for children and the adults who love them. The book includes a six-page curriculum to help teachers and parents guide children in additional learning. A Squirre's Story has wonderful lessons for little people about finding the courage to face fears. It offers deep insights into the trepidation of a slow-to-warm child and the painful, but necessary, work of separation. Shirlee, the squirrel mom, always puts her children's best interests first, stoically accepting the role of responsibility, the occasional need for 'tough love' and the bittersweet feelings that confront a parent whose child is read to leave the nest. In naming its heroine, Bommersbach's book honors the memory of her longtime friend Shirlee Lehnis, a reading specialist who died at the time the book was being written. It also celebrates the treasured childhood of its author, a talented, insightful and creative literary artist who was well parented, and well loved. -- Karen Davis - Barr Raising Arizona Kids magazine, September, 2013 A Squirrel's Story: A True Tale is one of the best books for use in the 3rd or 4th grade classroom because of both the fun story line and the facts about squirrels the reader will absorb. Teachers and parents will enjoy following the mama squirrel as she raises her babies and teaches them the values and the character traits that they will need to grow into responsible adult squirrels. Student readers will be able to master the reading independently, but as a classroom addition to science and biology, this book will also work great as a group story. The author has taken observations about squirrel activity to weave a story about how a parent teaches a young one how to be independent, gain confidence, and be nurtured to healthy growth and development by telling the squirrel's story. The author has done an excellent job with additional classroom activities in the last few pages of the book. The curriculum guide includes third grade vocabulary words and exploration, creative language activities, and writing guidelines. Also included for readers is a word matching game. Teachers are encouraged to allow students to be the reporter, the poet, or the researcher and to discover how to write their own true story based on observations. Art is an extra bonus activity included in the curriculum addendum and teachers and parents will enjoy adding this to the fun when reading and teaching this book. The author offers several online sites for more activities and information to enhance the student. Activities address both visual and auditory learners, making this book a great addition to the classroom. Other books by the publisher can be found at www.eStarPublish.com and specific additional information on this book can be found at the website www.SquirrelsStory.com. -- Terri Forehand, 3rd Grade Reading Jana Bommersbach's book, A Squirrel's Story, tells of a mother squirrel who, fearful of a nasty black cat, makes her nest for her newborns in a bird house. Out of danger, she cares for her children in the way mothers do. When Sally is eager and energetic, her mother is proud. When Sammy is timid and shy, mother squirrel is concerned. The children learn about dive-bombing birds protecting their young and about the squirrel alarm and its signals for danger (one very long chirp and a tail straight up). When Sally pokes fun at Sammy for being timid, mother squirrel intervenes and asks her to apologize. But when the time comes for the two to venture out the nest and Sammy hides in the bird house in fear, mother squirrel literally pulls Sammy out the house for him to experience life, rather than being fearful of it. His natural instincts kick in and his fears vanish, and he becomes the squirrel he was meant to be. The book contains a curriculum guide for teachers and parents with activities, websites and adventures for the family to enjoy. -- Susan Roberts, San Francisco Book Review Got an older elementary-age reader? Here's one for the stacks ... In A Squirrel's Story: A True Tale (written by Jana Bommersbach, illustrated by Jeff Yesh), readers will meet Shirlee Squirrel, a mama squirrel who needs to find a home for her babies that keeps them safe and far, far from the clutches of a scary black cat! When they move into a birdhouse made for wood ducks, Shirlee and her young squirrels, Sammy and Sally, create a home of their very own in the backyard of a kind human couple named Rudy and Willie. Shirlee teaches her children everything gray tree squirrels need to know as they grow up in their North Dakota home. The book has the added bonus of curriculum and activity guides, making it a great addition to both the home and the classroom. Kids will be entertained at the same time as they learn about wildlife. -- Liesel Schmidt, Finding Words This is a true story of an adorable family of gray squirrels, a mamma, and her two babies. She is looking for the perfect, safe nest where she can raise her little ones and not have to worry about any dangers that may befall them. The story starts with a big, overweight black cat who is salivating just thinking about the delicious meal those squirrels would make. The mother's heart, sensing the danger that this malicious feline might pose to her young ones, sets off to find a home where they can all live together with no fears and anxieties. She spots a birdhouse that houses wood ducks and claims it as her new family homestead. It is located in the backyard of two kind people that live in North Dakota and they are happy to have her move in and stay as their tenant. After her babies are born she nurtures them and teaches them what it is like to be a gray squirrel. The book contains a lot of factual information about squirrels and certainly take-away life lessons. An extra added bonus is the curriculum and activity guides that are perfect for home or classroom use found at the back of the book. As a former teacher, I always loved that added feature, something I could share with my students. This book has heart, a mother's heart, and the message will resonate within you long after you have read the last page. -- Marilyn Panton, Storywraps A Squirrel's Story, written by Jana Bommersbach is a true and tender story delightfully written in the first person by a mother squirrel who is looking for a perfect place to live for herself and for her two baby squirrels, little Sally and Sammy. The neighborhood cat is mean and menacing and frightens the mother squirrel, so she knows how important it is to find the safest place for her family. Two friendly neighbors build birdhouses in their yard. The birdhouses are beautiful to the mother squirrel. She surprises everyone by choosing a birdhouse for her new family's home. Squirrels don't live in birdhouses, but the mother squirrel and her babies do just that. As she teaches her young babies how to be squirrels, she learns how different little Sally and Sammy are. Full of charm and tenderness, A Squirrel's Story is a joy to read and is the kind of story that will forever remain in your heart. -- Jackie Ferrell, Independence, MO
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