The Squirrel Wife  illustrations were first created as a series of 12 full page colour linocut illustrations and more than 18 single colour illustrations and text embellishments. This illustrative work is woven through the first edition of Philippa Pierce's children's novel The Squirrel Wife.  First published by Longman Young in 1971 Derek Collards creations within this now collectable hardback embellished every page of this story with a rich and varied cacophony of visual stimulation. 

The story

On a dark and stormy night. Jack, a young swineherd, hears cries for help from amidst the storm ravaged trees. Ignoring the warnings of his wicked elder brother, he ventures into the forest. In reward for saving the life of a little green man that he finds trapped underneath a fallen tree, Jack is given a magic golden ring. Placed on the wrist of a newborn squirrel, this grants him the love of a nimble and wild eyed little squirrel wife. The only place for their life together as man and wife is in the forest where Jack builds their house and learns all there is to know about living in amidst the trees. However, it is not long before Jack's elder brother hears rumor of his young sibling's success and sets about bringing his good fortune to an end. With the aid of his squirrel wife and the lord of the little green forest people, Jack gets to live happily ever after whilst his elder brother is kept as a servant to the forest men so that he might learn some wisdom.