A fun book for this Thanksgiving weekend is Nuts to You by Lynne Rae Perkins. It’s a book about squirrels. It’s also about the importance of friendship, the importance of stories, and the importance of community.

The story begins when a squirrel named Jed is snatched by a hawk. Luckily, he knows Hai Tchree (the ancient squirrel defensive martial art) and wriggles free. But he’s far from home. His friend TsTs sees him fall, though. So, she and Chai set off across the buzzpaths (utility wires) to find him.

Part of the charm of this book is getting the squirrel point of view on everything from chainsaws to bobcats to peanut butter. Also amusing are the footnotes and annotated illustrations from the human narrator. All in all, a sweet and funny read. Larrabee and I recommend it.

Happy Thanksgiving. And nuts to you, my friends. Nuts to us all.

Fans of Erin Hunter’s Warriors series will like Shark Wars by E.J. Altbacker. The first in a six-book series, Shark Wars tells the story of a young shark named Gray who is exiled from his clan (called a “shiver”) and must make his own way in the Big Blue.

Blaine devoured this series several years ago, and now Larrabee is following in his wake. These books feature friendship and rivalry, loyalty and treachery, action and suspense, and lots of different kinds of sharks!

An added benefit: Larrabee has been drawing sharks and other sea creatures non-stop.

The third book in Geoff Rodkey’s Tapper Twins series is the perfect Election Day read!

The Tapper Twins Run for President is an “oral history” of the Culvert Prep sixth grade class elections for the second semester. It consists of interviews conducted by Claudia Tapper with her handwritten commentary in the margins. Photographs, drawings, school newspaper articles, and text and chat exchanges are included too. The result is a funny and fast-paced tale of middle school politics.

Claudia Tapper is the three-term incumbent with a long career in student government. Her twin brother Reese Tapper is more into soccer and video games. He only decides to run for class president because he’s upset that the school banned soccer balls from the rooftop playground (and because he’s competitive with his sister). James Mantolini is the third and zaniest candidate, running on a “free range education” platform to get rid of classroom furniture.

This election story features everything from polling data to scheming campaign managers, from an in-game campaign rally to secret Starbucks meetings, from allegations of media bias to debate drama (with a live squirrel). And it has a happy ending. Enjoy!