Character Spotlight: Jed

by Kayla Aldrich, Read to Them staff

Hello, all, and happy Monday! We hope you're eager to dive into your second week with Nuts to You - this week's a good one. We've got a couple surprises in store, so be sure to check back on Wednesday. To kick things off, we thought we'd give a proper introduction to the squirrel who's found himself quite far from home:

Jed

Name: Jed

Species: Squirrel

Home: Jed lives in a stretch of woods that smells of oak and is constantly bustling with the voices of squirrels he's known all his life. If he climbs up into the trees, he can see a couple of unusual shapes - such as a tall frozen spiderweb (power lines) and a great beak that sometimes sings but never opens (a church steeple). Unfortunately, Jed has found himself taken by a hawk and dropped quite far from the place he's always called home.

Friends: Jed's best friends in the whole wide world are Chai and TsTs, a pair of determined squirrels looking to bring Jed back to their neck of the woods. However, Jed has also met a handful of new squirrels - Chuck and Tsam - who help him navigate the new, unfamiliar area where Jed has landed. Chuck and Tsam, when Jed tells his story, are also the two to believe him without question.

Personality: Jed is actually quite clever, you know! When he was being held in the hawk's talons, Jed understood that if he didn't do something, he'd not make it out alive. So he let his whole body go limp and managed to escape - amazing, right? He can be stubborn and unmoving, though, as when Jip was calling "Wolf!" Jed was the only squirrel who didn't flee into the trees. He is thankful for landing in a place where there's food and shelter and kind squirrels willing to help him... even if they do want him to reenact his escape from the hawk more than once.

Notable Quote: "It doesn't have to be a really good nest. I won't be staying for long."

Try not to worry too much, Jed: your friends are on their way! We hope to see you back here on Wednesday for an exclusive interview with the author of Nuts to You, Lynne Rae Perkins - you won't want to miss it! Be sure to share photos with us of you and your family during the reading event on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Looking for a community to talk about all things Nuts to You? Don’t forget to join Flipgrid to share your thoughts with your peers. Be well, all, and happy reading!