Picture book, possibly 1950s (certainly pre-70s). A realistically drawn chipmunk overwinters in proximity to a human household. It lives (I think) in a woodpile, where it makes itself cozy with gathered provisions. There may be an abandoned Halloween pumpkin involved, rotting away bit by bit.
This sounds like “mousekin’s golden home”
That is a very reasonable suggestion — but I know it’s not the one I’m looking for, since _Mousekin’s Golden Home_ was first published in 1987 and the book I’m looking for was in my hands in the late 1960s. Again, thanks for trying. — Regards, Larry
Mousekin’s Golden House (not home!) was first published in 1964.
I stand corrected and gladly so! Thank you!
But it’s not the book, alas. Just looked at a copy. Completely different drawings.
Mousekin’s Golden House by Edna Miller.
Very good suggestion, but I’ve looked at a copy of the Mousekin book and it isn’t the one. Maybe my memory is wrong about the pumpkin; in any case, the drawings are quite different. Thanks anyway!
Chipmunk Willie by Harry J Baerg?