On the topic of pets, it might be assumed that to the question of how to keep a pet squirrel, there would be only one answer: don’t keep it at all. Creator of the little masterpiece How to Keep a Pet Squirrel, Axel Scheffler, however, disagrees – for the sake of art and amusement, at least.
Carrying the sensible disclaimer that, “of course, no child today would be silly enough to capture and keep a wild squirrel,” Scheffler’s illustrations accompany a genuine but archaic guide from a children’s encyclopaedia on how to domesticate these nut-loving rodents. Scheffler is himself well-qualified to tackle such a topic, having previously illustrated the children’s classic The Gruffalo.
The somewhat touching instructions direct the reader in the ways of squirrel ownership, conscientiously reminding any prospective squirrel foster-parent that “it is unkind to capture an animal that leads so active and unfettered a life, after it has passed infancy and knows what the freedom of the woods is like”.
Warnings against “nasty nips” are illustrated with a suitably wicked (later chastised) squirrel, apparently clenching its tiny fists in rodent rage.
Guidelines on squirrel care cover all the basics: cage size, the provision of a wheel for exercise (jogging is evidently high on the list of a squirrel’s list of sporting delights), furnishings and (rather surprisingly) acrobatic apparatus. There are also numerous things to take into account when choosing an animal – if one encounters a perplexed-looking squirrel sponging its feet, one can be sure that its hygiene levels are up to scratch.
Despite the apparent narrow confines of his topic, Axel Scheffler has transformed a stiffly starched guide on animal cruelty into a humorous gem of squirrel proportions.
His distinctive anthropomorphic style brings to life a piece of writing, which would otherwise have faded dustily into obscurity. – Lara Sadler