Lucky

Hill debuts with a fast-moving animal adventure that explores friendship, belonging, loyalty, and perseverance. Following an attack on his “home-tree,” Lucky, a tiny and timid red squirrel, was adopted by the First Daughter of a matriarchal Cloudfoot clan of gray squirrels. Female Cloudfoots are schooled in “the Knowledge,” which enables them to advise males so they can defeat enemies. Though “it had never occurred to her that a male could be clever,” First Daughter decides to share the Knowledge with Lucky, who is smaller and weaker than the gray squirrels and will only survive by learning to think for himself. Lucky’s wits and friends give him the confidence to prove his mettle during a battle with an enemy squirrel family, in which a young female squirrel, Mazie, also triumphs. Hill packs her story with personable characters, including several chipper dogs and foxes who protect, rather than prey on, squirrels. Observations from a squirrel’s perspective—seeing human runners in the park, Lucky muses, “Something terrible must be chasing them”—will keep readers entertained throughout. Ages 7–10. (Feb.)