HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Bannertail: The Story of a Gray Squirrel'' is a children's novel written and illustrated by
Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...
. It was first published by
Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...
in 1922. The novel was adapted into an animated television series, '' Bannertail: The Story of Gray Squirrel'', in 1979.


Plot summary

A baby squirrel is adopted by a farm cat after his mother is killed, but when he is half-grown the barn which is his home catches fire. He flees into the woods, where he learns to survive and make a new life.


The author's aims

From the Foreword:
"These are the ideas that I have aimed to set forth in this tale. 1st. That although an animal is much helped by its mother's teaching, it owes still more to the racial teaching, which is instinct, and can make a success of life without its mother's guidance, if only it can live through the dangerous time of infancy and early life. 2d. Animals often are tempted into immorality—by which I mean, any habit or practice that would in its final working, tend to destroy the race. Nature has rigorous ways of dealing with such. 3d. Animals, like ourselves, must maintain ceaseless war against insect parasites—or perish. 4th. In the nut forests of America, practically every tree was planted by the Graysquirrel, or its kin. No squirrels, no nut-trees."


Television adaptation

'' Bannertail: The Story of Gray Squirrel'' was produced by
Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City. Nippon Animation is known for producing numerous anime series based on works of ...
in 1979. There are 26 episodes. The series was translated from Japanese into English, into German as ''Puschel, das Eichhorn'', into Afrikaans as ''Pokkel die eekhoring'' into Arabic and into Spanish as "Banner y Flappy".


References


External links

* * * Ernest Thompson Seton 1922 American novels 1922 children's books American children's novels Children's novels about animals Fictional squirrels American novels adapted into television shows Novels set in New Jersey Children's books about squirrels Children's books set in New Jersey {{1920s-child-novel-stub