Squirrel
Preschool · 3–5A cheerful squirrel sitting up with an acorn held in both paws and a big curling tail arching behind it. It is a page most children recognize instantly from the park or the garden, which makes it an easy one to start a conversation over. The tail's feathery outline gives older children something to work into carefully, while the body is straightforward. Coloring a squirrel is a natural way to talk about animals that store food for winter, about acorns and oak trees, and about what happens to the nuts a squirrel forgets. Print it, or color it online with the paint bucket.
A tail that curls over the back
The bushy tail arcing up over the body is what makes a squirrel recognisable in silhouette, and it is the largest single region on this page. Filling it with short strokes running outwards from the body reads as fur, which is an easy technique to try here.
The front paws are small and usually holding something, which is the detail children go looking for.
Forgetting where the nuts are
Squirrels bury far more food than they retrieve, and the forgotten caches grow into trees. It is one of the neatest examples of an animal accidentally doing something useful, and children enjoy the idea that forgetting can plant a forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Do squirrels remember where they bury food?
- Some of it. A large proportion is never recovered, and those forgotten nuts grow into trees — so squirrels plant a great many woodlands by accident.
- What age is this page for?
- Four to eight. The tail is large and forgiving; the paws and face need more care.
