Mentor Text - Those Darn Squirrels (for VOICE and CHARACTER)
- hvgreenspan
- Nov 14
- 3 min read
Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
"From the bestselling creators of Dragons Love Tacos comes the story of what happens when a grumpy old man and some mischievous squirrels match wits—with hilarious results. Little ones and grown-ups will giggle through multiple reads of Those Darn Squirrels!" - Harper Colllins website
At almost 15 years old, it's safe to call this story an "oldie but a goodie." Maybe even a great-y. Why do kids (and adults) still enjoy this book so much? Why haven't they pushed it aside? I'll tell you why - it's the VOICE and the CHARACTER of that grumpy old Mr. Fookwire! His voice and character stay consistent, even though he's gone through change. His tagline ("darn squirrels!") remainss the same, though he says it with a smile at the end.
D.K. Ryland's Have You Seen My Acorn?, which came out last year, is a great example as well. The highly impatient, not-so-bright, slightly paranoid squirrel is just SO much fun to read to kids. Why? (You guessed it, VOICE and CHARACTER!).
This is the case for SO many classics and classics-to-be. Piggy & Elephant? Voice and character. Kitten Ninja? Voice and Character. Knight Owl? Voice and character. Pig the Pug? Voice and character. Buffalo Fluffalo? Voice and character. And my very own most favoriteist favorite-ever all-time-favorite book from my childhood... Eloise? SO much voice and SO much character!
One way to practice honing voice and character in your writing is to read a boatload of mentor texts, like the ones I've listed above, and many, many more (when I consider which books to use as mentor texts, I love to take clues from my own kids and students and think about the ones that they want to read over and over again).
Another way to develop your characters is to interview them! I'm a huge fan of listening to interviews and I listen to a TON of author/illustrator interview podcasts (I list some of my favs below for you). So why not pretend to interview your very own character? You can simply imagine their responses, you could write them down, you could illustrate their answers, or you could even get weird and rope your unsuspecting family into a full on dramatization!
Below, I present you with a non-peer-reviewed, non-research-backed, gluten-free completely made-up set of interview questions to ask YOUR character. Have fun!
What was your first word as a baby?
Who is your best friend, and why?
Do you celebrate Halloween? If yes, what did you dress up as last Halloween?
When you get to eat a triple scoop cone of ice cream, what do you say? And what flavors did you order?!
When your ice cream falls out of the cone and splats on the ground, what do you do? What do you say?
When you find a lucky penny while cleaning your room, what do you say? And what do you do with the lucky penny?
The #1 item on your birthday wishlist is... ? When you actually get that thing, what do you say?
What is your greatest fear?
Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? What would you say to a ghost?
Who do you go to when you have a nightmare?
Now that you've interviewed your character and gained a deep insight into their soul, let's say that your book becomes a #1 NYT bestseller, and all the podcasts, radio stations, and even The Tonight Show want YOU to do an interview. What would your answers be to the following:
What inspired you to write this phenomenal and groundbreaking book?
If you could give your main character one piece of life-advice, what would it be?
After someone closes the back cover of your book, what do you envision them feeling, saying, and doing?
What is the HEART of your story? (whatever that means to you!)
We hear that Pixar is paying you billions for the movie rights to this story. Who will play the voice of your main character(s)?
What will you do with all of your hard-earned billions?
Will there be a sequel to this story? What will it be about?
Well done. You've completed your interviews. Now you get to go relax, and while you do, feel free to listen to one of my favorite book-shaped podcasts.
Picture Books and Early Readers
Middle Grade and/or YA