Toaff's Way

Starred review from May 15, 2018
During the first four seasons of his life, the titular gray squirrel learns to embrace his "only-ness."This illustrated novel begins with Toaff leaping about treetops, excitedly discovering his innate, gray-squirrel abilities. "Sometimes everything was so wonderful that all you could do was whuffle" (a term used abundantly throughout the book). Toaff's life has begun in a large, multifamily den on a farm, in an upright, dead tree. A violent winter storm forces him to find new lodgings--by himself. He uses knowledge imparted by his elders to forage, evade and/or escape predators, as well as to build himself a new home. There are many false starts in the latter process, but Toaff cheerfully perseveres. Encounters with other animals, especially with a red squirrel named Nilf, lead him to question some of his accumulated gray-squirrel lore and to become a better person--err, squirrel. With the same agility that Toaff displays in scrambling up his favorite hickory tree, the text intertwines the factual with the fanciful. This includes pervasive, gentle humor, such as these gray-squirrel perceptions: The farm's humans live in a "big white nest" near their "big red nest." The text also offers reassurance to young readers that squirrels--unlike humans--likely meet with equanimity such happenstances as the sudden loss of a home--or a mother. The tale's ending is perfect. The pen-and-ink illustrations support the plotline and the text's borderline realism, and they show the human family of three to be white.A brilliant, bushy-tailed bildungsroman. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)

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May 28, 2018
Fans of Voigt’s Davis Farm books will relish this newest animal adventure featuring Toaff, a gray squirrel whose curiosity gets him in trouble as much as it brings happy surprises. Spanning one year, Toaff’s story begins when the tree where he lives is uprooted during a winter storm. Not knowing where his family has fled, Toaff sets out to find a new place to live. He’s been taught survival skills, but he still has many questions about the world: Are humans friends or enemies? Why is he supposed to hate red squirrels? What lies on the other side of the drive? In his quest to find answers, Toaff develops some unexpected friendships with a young red squirrel, a group of gray squirrels living a life of luxury, a playful dog, and a litter of orphaned “Littles.” As the seasons pass, scary moments, such as when Toaff is attacked by a fisher, are well balanced with cozy moments when the young squirrel is warm and safe. Skillfully presenting sights from an animal’s perspective and touching upon social issues such as prejudice and elitism, Newbery Medalist Voigt provides a lovely story to curl up with. Ages 8–12. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House.

June 1, 2018
Grades 3-5 Voigt further expands the bounds of the Davis farm?described through the eyes of its dogs in Angus and Sadie (2005) and a mouse in Young Fredle (2011)?by taking to the trees with Toaff, a young gray squirrel. Divided into seasons, the story begins in the cozy hollow of a horse chestnut tree, where Toaff lives with his family until a harsh winter storm blows it down. When Toaff wakes up in the wreckage, he is alone and must apply the squirrel skills he's learned (foraging, nest building, eluding predators, staying away from the road) if he's to survive. Underlying these adventures is Toaff's growing acceptance of otherness in himself, which gives him the confidence to establish his own place on the farm. Endearing drawings appear throughout, adding to the story's sweet and gentle feel. Readers don't need to have read the previous Davis Farm books to be right at home with kind, brave Toaff and feel reassured in the formidable task of understanding the world outside their front door.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Voigt establishes an energetic, curious, joyful, impulsive tone as we follow Toaff, a young gray squirrel, over the course of four seasons. This set of adventures (from storms and predator attacks to understanding the strange behavior of humans) is likely to have special resonance for those young readers who don't default to patience and are inclined to leap before they look.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)