The Tale of a No-Name Squirrel

Gr 4–6—Classic fantasy elements combine in this epic quest. Squirrel, the last slave in Bimmau, spends his entire life delivering mail on behalf of his mongoose master. His repetitive life changes when he delivers a sack full of wedding invitations to a high-society cat club and discovers that one spot on the guest list is intended for him. The ritzy wedding promises to be the event of a lifetime until a murder of crows attack the guests. Squirrel manages to escape after he learns two important details: The crows are looking for him, and he's not the simple orphaned slave he thinks he is. With his new friends, a spirited dog, and a turncoat crow with suspect motives, he travels throughout the land, solving riddles to uncover the secrets locked inside himself. Vivid descriptions of sweeping scenery call to mind the varying terrain of Dhariwal's native India, where the book was first published in 2014 (as The PetPost Secret). Much of the dialogue is delivered in dialects, some of which might not seem natural to readers, but they serve to reflect how far Squirrel has traveled. The unresolved ending means additional books are sure to come.