Book Review of They Call Me Desqel
Sponsored* | All opinions are our own
The Children’s Book Review
They Call Me Desqel
Written by Dully Katzeff
Illustrated by Anastasiia Tsipan
Ages: 7-10 | 116 Pages
Publisher: DKB (2025) | ISBN: 978-1-0695086-2-1
What to Expect: Friendship, acceptance, diversity, trust, and wildlife.
With short, easy chapters and plenty of illustrations, this beginner’s chapter book explores concepts like accepting different viewpoints, testing boundaries, and trying new things.
Desqel is a very pampered pet squirrel who loves nothing better than the delicious snacks his human, Lou, brings him and being petted by her while he munches on them. However, when Lou goes away on vacation, Desqel’s world is turned upside down. Not only is Lou not around to pet him, but an audacious new creature moves into his territory—a wild red squirrel with very different ideas about how the world works.
Redhead steals his food, challenges his right to live with humans, and even pulls his tail! Still, Desqel can’t help liking her because she brings something to his life he’s never experienced before—adventure! Soon, the two new friends are learning from each other about trust, understanding, and identity.
The two squirrel protagonists are delightfully different from one another, with Redhead’s vivacious energy contrasting starkly with Desqel’s caution and complacency. Readers will love watching their friendship develop as they broaden their perspectives to encompass each other’s widely different world views. Dynamic ink and paint artwork reflect the energy and movement of the two squirrels, as well as capturing their differences through stark contrasts in size, shape, and color, while cartoon speech bubbles help readers hone in on the most important messages.
For readers who love animal stories, They Call Me Desqel is sure to be a winner.
Buy the Book
About the Author
Dully Katzeff has spent nearly seven decades traveling across and living on three continents, gathering stories, languages, and lessons from every corner of life.
In her early twenties, while in a new city in a foreign country, she began her journey as a waitress, followed by a variety of roles, from running a small personal book operation to working as a packaging buyer and eventually starting a family technology company.
In her late thirties and early forties, motherhood became the center of her life: her occupation, her role, the mallets of her heartbeat. Everything she had experienced and learned prior to motherhood became a roadmap for raising the three most important projects of her life: her three children.
They Call Me Desqel is a story of identity, friendship, and tolerance. It is her gift to her children and to the grandchildren she may or may not meet. It’s a story born of lived experiences, written for those who guide, teach, and love children every day.
About the Illustrator
Anastasiia Tsipan is an illustrator from Ukraine.
Drawing is something that has accompanied her since childhood. While studying at school and later at university, she always tried to find time to draw, and even now, with three small children, she still tries to find time to create new illustrations. She is a speech therapist by profession, but it was during her maternity leave that she realized she needed to practice and develop the talent God gave her. She wants to do something good for others, so her illustrations convey friendship, kindness, joy, and love, because these qualities are very necessary for this world.
Dedicated Reviews allow authors and illustrators to gain prompt visibility for their work. This is a sponsored*, non-biased review of They Call Me Desqel. Learn more about getting a book review …
