Those Darn Squirrels

Based on the 2008 picture book by author Adam Rubin and illustrator Daniel Salmieri, this iconographic-animated adaptation introduces crotchety “Old Man Fookwire, ” who—unimpressed with the niceties of life (such as pie and puppies)—only gets excited about painting pictures of the myriad birds that fly near his little home on the edge of town. With the onset of fall, the lonely grump decides to try to lure the avian scavengers into sticking around with robust birdfeeders, but these are swiftly overtaken by a group of crafty, extremely intelligent squirrels. Both the birds and Fookwire are upset at the thieving rodents, so Fookwire sets about fashioning complicated contraptions to put a stop to the pilfering…even though the birds—naturally—still fly South for the season. Although the old man is sad, Those Darn Squirrels comes up with some ideas to soften the blow for Fookwire in this fun children's tale narrated by Kirby Heyborne. Recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)