Untitled Mural by Paul O. Zelinsky
The Children’s Literature Gallery at the American Writers Museum features an original mural by celebrated illustrator and Caldecott award winning children’s author Paul O. Zelinsky
What special connection does each squirrel have to its book?
The mural depicts forty-two squirrels intensely engaged in reading thirty-two books that represent significant milestones in American children’s literature. Visitors should note that each squirrel is somehow affected by his reading choice, either holding a token suggested by the story or showing evidence of the book’s content. If you look even more closely, you might find one last resident at home in the tree, working away on its own book.
Harold and the Purple Crayon squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Harold and the Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson (1955)
A brown squirrel sitting on the purple outline of a leaf is reading Harold and the Purple Crayon.
A Wrinkle in Time squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle (1963)
A black squirrel is reading A Wrinkle in Time while hanging upside down from a tree branch.
A Snowy Day squirrel (2017) by Paul O. Zelinsky and Untitled Mural by Paul O. Zelinsky in the Children's Literature Gallery at the American Writers Museum in Chicago, IL, USAAmerican Writers Museum
The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
This gray squirrel is holding a stick and reading The Snowy Day.
Superman squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Superman, Jerry Siegel, illustrated by Joel Shuster (1938)
A brown flying squirrel is reading Superman here.
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems, Langston Hughes (1932)
A brown squirrel reading The Dream Keeper. It is nestled in the crook of two branches and has its eyes closed.
The book was illustrated by Helen Sewell.
The Wonderful World of Oz squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
A gray squirrel wearing silver slippers reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The book was illustrated by Lois Lenski.
Frog and Toad are Friends squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Frog and Toad are Friends, Arnold Lobel (1970)
A gray squirrel with a button on its belly is reading Frog and Toad Are Friends.
Charlottes Web squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Charlotte's Web, E.B. White (1952)
Two gray squirrels are reading Charlotte's Web. The smaller one is perched on a higher branch next to a spider web.
The book was illustrated by Garth Williams.
Millions of Cats squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Millions of Cats, Wanda Gag (1928)
This detail features a large gray squirrel, a medium-sized brown squirrel and a small gray squirrel reading Millions of Cats.
The Real Mother Goose squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Real Mother Goose, Anonymous (1916)
This brown flying squirrel is reading Mother Goose.
The book was illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright.
The Little Engine that Could squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Little Engine that Could, Unknown author (1930)
Gray squirrel paws are holding The Little Engine That Could, which is smoking and coming out sideways from the tree.
The book was illustrated by Lois Lenski.
Goodnight Moon squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown (1947)
A grey squirrel is laying on a branch reading Goodnight Moon, which is hanging open over the branch above him.
The book was illustrated by Clement Hurd.
Crow Boy squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Crow Boy, Taro Yashima (1955)
A gray squirrel is reading Crow Boy. A small crow head is peeking over its shoulder.
Golden Book of Dinosaurs squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Dinosaurs, Jane Watson Werner (1960)
A small gray squirrel is reading Dinosaurs.
The Giant Golden Book of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Reptiles, Jane Watson Werner, illustrated by Rudolph F. Zalinger (1960)
The World is Round squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The World is Round, Gertrude Stein (1939)
A gray squirrel is reading The World is Round and scratching its head.
The book was illustrated by Clement Hurd.
Little House in the Big Woods squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932)
A gray squirrel reads Little House in the Big Woods.
The book was illustrated by Helen Sewell.
A Light in the Attic squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
A Light in the Attic, Shel Silverstein (1981)
A black squirrel is reading A Light in the Attic and a smaller brown one is grinding pepper on the black squirrel from a higher branch.
Ginger Pye squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Ginger Pye, Eleanor Estes (1951)
A gray squirrel wearing a yellow hat is reading Ginger Pye.
The Stars squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Stars, H.A. Rey (1952)
A brown upside-down flying squirrel reading The Stars.
M C Higgins the Great squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
M.C. Higgins, the Great, Virginia Hamilton (1974)
A black squirrel in the top of a tree looks up at the sky while reading M.C. Higgins, the Great.
Islands of the Blue Dolphins squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell (1960)
A gray squirrel is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins and holding a whale bone.
Caps for Sale squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina (1940)
A gray squirrel wearing a red cap is reading Caps for Sale.
More Rootabagas squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
More Rootabagas, Carl Sandburg (1991)
Here, a gray squirrel is facing away reading a book.
The book was illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.
Make Way for Ducklings squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey (1941)
This gray squirrel is sitting on an egg and reading Make Way for Ducklings.
A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Here, a black squirrel is reading a yellow book, and has 3 others stacked nearby.
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Little Lord Fauntleroy, Frances Hodgson Burnett (1886)
The Cat in the Hat squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Cat in the Hat, Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) (1957)
A gray squirrel is reading The Cat in the Hat to a smaller gray squirrel wearing a red scarf.
All of a Kind Family squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
All-of-a-Kind Family, Sydney Taylor (1951)
One squirrel is brown, and much larger than the baby gray squirrels surrounding it.
The book was illustrated by Helen John.
Little Women squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (1868)
Squirrel wearing a bonnet is reading Little Women.
Perez and Martina squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Perez and Martina, Pura Belpre (1932)
Squirrel is reading Perez and Martina, based on a Puerto rican folktale about a love story between a cockroach and a mouse.
The book was illustrated by Carlos Sanchez.
Where the Wild Things Are squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak (1963)
Squirrel who hangs from the lowest limb of the mural’s oak reads Where the Wild Things Are.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer squirrel (2017) by Paul O. ZelinskyAmerican Writers Museum
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
A gray squirrel and black squirrel together read Tom Sawyer.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), illustrated by True Williams (1876)
American Writers Museum Children's Literature Gallery (2017) by Bob WolgemuthAmerican Writers Museum
Little Squirrels Storytime in front of the Untitled Mural in the Children’s Literature Gallery at the American Writers Museum in Chicago, IL.
