Exciting, poignant, and funny, this lavishly illustrated epic tale will delight children of all ages.

High in the Clouds

FROM OUR EDITORS

Wirral the Squirrel is homeless. The evil Gretsch have destroyed his wilderness home, trampling it in their relentless drive to expand. But Wirral does not despair; he vows to find a new home in Animalia, the fabled land where all creatures are said to live together in freedom. What begins as a personal quest becomes a mission as the brave little acorn-cracker realizes that animals are enslaved everywhere. Sir Paul McCartney, children's book author Geoff Dunbar, and children's book artist Philip Ardagh have created a beautiful book with an ever-timely message.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Forced to leave his woodland home, destroyed by the expansion plans of the evil Gretsch, Wirral the squirrel vows to find the fabled land of Animalia, where all the animals are said to live in freedom and without fear. Aided and abetted by Froggo the hot-air-ballooning frog, Wilhamina the plucky red squirrel, and Ratsy the streetwise rodent, Wirral's personal quest turns into a full-blown plan to save enslaved animals Everywhere -- a plan that is fraught with danger.

Exciting, poignant, and funny, this lavishly illustrated epic tale will delight children of all ages.

Paul McCartney's lifelong interest in children's storytelling grew out of his love of classic Disney. He has created a number of award-winning animated films in collaboration with Geoff Dunbar, including Tuesday, based on the book by David Wiesner, and Tropic Island Hum, which features characters from this book.

Geoff Dunbar, the artist who created the illustrations for High in the Clouds, is one of the world's finest animation directors. Among the many awards for film and television he has received are two British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards (BAFTAs), a BAFTA nomination, and a Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Philip Ardagh is a bestselling children's author whose books have received widespread critical acclaim throughout the world. His work is now translated into twenty-seven languages.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Marking McCartney's children's book debut, this playfully meandering tale in which good triumphs over evil was inspired by Tropical Island Hum (2004), an animated film on which the singer/songwriter and Dunbar, the animator, collaborated. McCartney here teams up with Ardagh (the Eddie Dickens trilogy) to create a fanciful, conversational narrative starring Wirral the squirrel, whose mother is a storyteller. Wirral's favorites of his mother's stories are set in Animalia, a tropical island where creatures live "without a care in the world." Bulldozers soon destroy idyllic Woodland, and Wirral's mother is crushed by a felled tree. Her final words to Wirral are to seek Animalia, sending him on a classic quest. In grimy Megatropolis, Wirral finds Gretsch, the "hairless ape" responsible for the Woodland's demise. When the hero learns of Gretsch's plan to obliterate Animalia, he sails off with his pal Froggo in the amphibian's hot-air balloon to find the island and warn its residents. Some adult asides are thrown in for good measure (citydweller Ratsy introduces himself saying, "You may have heard of my dad, Papa Ratsy?... The photographer?"), and some youngsters may be troubled by a few oversimplifications (are all humans bad, since Gretsch, a human, wishes to destroy nature?) and dangling questions (why does Froggo have a wooden leg? why do the Animalia inhabitants trust Gretsch with the care of their young at book's end?). But many will enjoy the happy ending as well as Dunbar's electric-hued energy-charged cartoon art with its 3-D quality and cast of eccentric animal characters sporting outlandish outfits and exaggerated facial expressions. 500,000 first printing. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-McCartney joins the ranks of celebrity authors with his first children's book. Wirral the squirrel sets off to find Animalia, a tropical animal sanctuary. He knows of it from his mother, who is crushed to death when bulldozers begin mowing down the Woodland. With her dying breath, she urges him to find the fabled island. His quest takes him to Megatropolis, a loud, polluted city, where he sees animals imprisoned in factories and learns of a plot to destroy Animalia. With the help of his friends Froggo and Wilhamina, Wirral finds the island and leads the animals of the Woodland and Megatropolis to a happy, if predictable, end. Ardagh's writing style and humor are evident, although some of the jokes fall flat. The cartoon illustrations resemble animation cels reduced to fit the book's pages, with the result that occasionally Wirral and his friends become lost in the surrounding scenery. Due to its length and vocabulary, the book will appeal to children who are ready for long read-alouds or beginning chapter books.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.