I didn't like this book at all. It felt like it had ADHD. Several glaring issues:

“Sadie had discovered that the squirrels had witnessed the Sermon on the Mount firstpaw (which is like firsthand, except for squirrels), which meant that they must have been suspended in time in a cave by the Dead Sea for nearly 2,000 years.“

--I had to reread this sentence to get it. I can't imagine a 10 year old getting into this.

But there's more:

“Squirrels usually go for a few decades, tops.”
--Unnatural sentence.

“Methuselah”
--The reader won’t know Methuselah (or Thessalonians, or “Suffice it to say...”)

I just got done being grounded for getting lost in the cave. I don’t know what Dad would do if he found out I smuggled back talking artifacts!” “I resent being called an artifact.” Merle sniffed. “Makes me feel old.” “You are old, dear.” Pearl patted his paw. “What if they have to go back to the Dead Sea?” Michael said. “I don’t wanna go back there!” Merle protested. “It’s too hot!”

--I think this conversation is distracting.

“Squirrel witness protection! It’s like a spy movie!” Justin said. “I like it!”

--I don’t think kids will get this joke.

Pearl, a first-century rodent, was not schooled in formal mathematics. But she’d had to deal with limited resources her whole life, so she had a natural talent for counting and calculating.

--Feels too advanced for this age group.

No matter how much I drink, it keeps filling itself back up! I tell you, Pearl, it’s like the loaves and the fishes!”

--Adding Bible cues that kids may not get.

Pearl, there’s no room in the inns,” he reported. “I figured as much,” Pearl mumbled as she studied an explanation of long division. “Where there’s a lot of nuts, there’s bound to be a lot of squirrels.”

--Badly-written humor

“he’d sketched a masterpiece of plastic pipery: an intricate tangle of tubes running all over his bedroom, like the Taj Mahal for hamsters.”

--Will kids get this joke?

Look, there’s about 10 more. The fact is, I laughed at one thing—BANZAI [sic].
Most of the events were unnecessary, had bad humor, over-the-head references, a lot of Bible-reference tossing and inserts that would confuse kids, and it had NO plot to maintain a kid’s attention. Throw out the dating dance and Air Supply reference too. The ending failed.

My first impression was that this was going to be an amazing, Christian middle-grade book about some cool squirrels who were math geniuses helping a kid understand equations through everyday events and they time-travel from the Dead Sea (maybe throwing in some Dead Sea facts that were mathematically connected). This book did not live up to that or up to a decent MG novel. So sorry, boos.

3rd book in a children's series about a pair of squirrels called the Dead Sea Squirrels named Merle and Pearl and their adventures with 10 year old Michael and his friends Justin and Sadie. Merle and Pearl help Michael with his homework assignments, encouraging him and teaching him the value of hard work and serving God and other people. The story is interspersed with fun illustrations. Mike Nawrocki was a co-creator of VeggieTales and the voice of Larry the Cucumber.

The third in the series, Michael and Justin are still keeping the secret of Merle and Pearl Squirrel, two squirrels previously well preserved in sea salt, who originally lived during the time Jesus walked the earth.

As church librarian, I'm always on the look-out for great new fiction for younger readers. This series, caught my eye and I read the first book in the series--I didn't love it, but decided to give the series another try.

This made for a short read, with cartoon style illustrations and with young reader friendly font. The third in the Dead Sea Squirrels Series, it wouldn't be a bad place to start as there are character bios and snippets of back story to help the reader start the series out of order if necessary.

I guess I just felt underwhelmed after reading this book, I felt the plot was too simple and short. I understand that it is written for younger readers, but I have read other books similar in target audience that had a more complex plot and stronger themes of faith and lessons. There are some fun original concepts here, and maybe if Michael and the squirrels interacted with each other more some of those concepts would come out stronger. Though humorous, sometimes I felt like it was trying too hard at times.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Opinions are my own.