It’s a Squirrely Life

In the Christmas movie classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Baily is a desperate businessman who thinks his life is worthless until an angel shows him otherwise. Published during the pandemic, JP Cawood turned George Baily’s story into a book for kids 7-10 that includes squirrels, chipmunks, birds, ants, and a bear as her main characters. 

Throughout the book Cawood shows her audience “…we’re all connected. If some are suffering, all are suffering. Even though we’re different, we need to look out for each other in order to survive…and thrive. We’re in this together.”

With that theme in mind, Cawood creates George the squirrel. George is chosen by Granny to operate Oak Creek’s only bank that contains the winter food savings of all the town’s critters. But George is young and inexperienced neglecting to lock the bank one fateful night. The next morning the bank vault is empty, and George blames himself for ruining Christmas for his family and friends. So, he runs away, but is stopped by his best friend Angel who shows him how much he means to the town.

The young squirrel has no other choice but to find the thief and return the stolen nuts and seeds back to the bank. The obvious suspect is the ferocious bear. 

JP Cawood creates a memorable story for young readers. It’s a Squirrely Life contains non-stop action, has funny dialogue, and adorable characters that will keep readers thinking long after they’ve read the last page. 

About the Author

Author JP Cawood has worked in live-action TV and film, animation, and comics. The screen adaptation of her novel, Love from Mars, was a recent Semi-finalist in both Screencraft and Stage32 screenplay competitions. She was also named Top 50 Screenwriter by the International Screenwriters’ Association in 2021. Both a teacher and student of meditation, she strongly believes in the untapped potential of the human mind. Her books question the nature of reality in unexpected and entertaining ways.