Dede and the Squirrel

Squirrel adored eating nuts and loved the bird feeders in the garden, full of seeds and peanuts. Dédé loved the bird feeders too but wanted them kept only for the birds. Who would win the battle? Squirrel with his agility and determination, or Dédé with his increasingly desperate measures to stop that squirrel in his tracks?

Anna Krikorian wrote these beautiful and true stories during the coronavirus lockdown year of 2020 for her 8 gorgeous grandchildren: Daniel, Ollie, Elena, Talica, James, Tom, Rose, and Aimatai. The children loved the stories and hearing of Dédé’s troubles with that naughty squirrel.

This is Anna’s first foray into published work: her formal career was as a teacher. Her long-suffering husband is Dédé, which is the Armenian name for grandfather.

Anna’s son in law, Saki Vakaciwa, a wonderful illustrator, captured Dédé’s mannerisms beautifully. Although, having grown up in Fiji and then in Australia, he did have trouble knowing what a squirrel looked like!