Publisher's Synopsis
Samuel Wellington Squirrel is a dreamer; instead of learning to build a nest, he spends his time listening to Mr. Owl tell stories of heroes and villains. Mother Squirrel has taught Sammy to be brave, not to fear lightning and thunder and rain. So when Buckskin, the neighborhood bad boy, dares Sammy to hop onto a moving van parked nearby and check it out for food, Sammy ignores the consequences of what can happen, proving to Buckskin that he's not afraid of anything. What happened next was unexpected: A man climbs down from the cab of the moving van, walks around to the back of the truck, presses a button and BAM the hatch door starts to close while Sammy is still inside. Suddenly, daylight disappears before his very eyes and Sammy learns too late that he is trapped. And so begins Sammy's HOMEBOUND adventure. Sammy wakes up a day later in a town called Pinegrove. Word spreads like wild fire that a black squirrel, a stranger, from a distant land has come to town. This is not good. Black squirrels are NOT welcomed in Pinegrove. Sammy earns respect when he beats the town's favorite "son" in a grueling race. He's adopted by Harry and Henrietta, pillars of the squirrel community, who love him like a son. For a time, everything is hunky dory. Sammy makes many new friends. Anything he wants, he may have. No reason for Sammy to be unhappy. But deep down, he is not happy. He longs for his home in the Great Maple; he misses his lifelong friend, Jimmy; and most of all, he misses his mom and dad. He sets out for home in the North Country with a husky named Charlie and a gray squirrel name Rocky--- the same squirrel he beat in the race. On the journey North, they meet up with Baxter, a bald eagle, and Princess, an orphan fawn who witnessed the killing of her mother by unscrupulous hunters. On their journey, The Fab Five rescue a bear cub from certain death during a snow storm. They fight a pack of wolves. Charlie, the husky, saves Princess from drowning when she falls into raging rapids. Sammy rescues a bunch of small animals who were snatched by an "autistic" bear who claims he doesn't mean to harm the little animals, that he's just lonely and only wants to make friends. On the last leg of their journey, The Fab Five meet Betsy, a golden retriever, who guides Sammy and his friends home. They arrive home in Centerville on Christmas Eve. It's snowing. Boys and girls from the neighborhood are singing Christmas carols beneath Sammy's nest in the Great Maple. At last, Sammy is home with his mom and dad, and all is well that's ends well.