Squirrel E. Burke: A Hero Takes Flight
By (Author) Burke Lee
Illustrated by Gerardo Alba
BookBaby
BookBaby
11th March 2022
United States
Hardback
24
Width 222mm, Height 222mm, Spine 7mm
240g
First time Grandpa (or "Grumpa" as his family calls him), Burke creates a hero of sorts in Squirrel E. Burke to walk his granddaughter through some of life's little lessons.
The book is also forwarded and closed with "love letters" that Burke writes in his journals at night after Renee has gone to bed. The poetry is wonderful and each page builds from the last in this wonderful story.
"There's just something so special, so innocent and fragile about this little lady. When I'm gone, I'd like to leave her with something that let's her know just how much she meant to this old man."
Burke is not an author, a poet, a romantic a comedian or even a very good story teller. Burke just does what's next on his heart where things can be appreciated just for being.
Burke has been in some capacity or another on every continent around the globe with the exception of Antarctica. He attributes his unique view of the world to this fact and can oftentimes be found literally counting the friends he's made around the world on what he calls an absolutely incredible trip through the stars.
The birth of his first grandchild (Renee Claire) drove Burke to the pages of his notebooks where he penned every little love letter that came to mind as this little girl quickly stole his heart.
He began imagining what he might be able to teach her, and the things in life that she might be able to see and understand before she experienced them. Renee and her Grumpa (Burke) spend some of their mornings together feeding squirrels at his home in Colorado, so naturally, it needed to be a squirrel that shared Grumpa's stories with her.
Burke adds - In the million or so stories that I'd like to write for my Granddaughter, there's only one lesson that I'd like for her to grasp in all of it...
When we finally realize just how insignificant we are in the universe, we'll finally understand just how important we are to each other. - Burke Gerardo Alba is cartoonist from Mexico City whose work ranges from journalism to slice of life and science fiction. His comics have been published by The Nib, PopCap Games, and BOOM! Studios. In 2015 he co-founded Little Red Bird Press and took on the role of Art Director. In 2017 he won the Jvenes Creadores (Young Creators) grant from The National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONCA) in Mexico, and in 2018 he won a grant for an artist residency in Angoulme, France from the French Embassy and the Mexican government through which he is creating his next graphic novel, a non-fiction story about the naturalist A. R. Wallace.