The New England Patriots have been thriving without star wide receiver Julian Edelman in 2017.

And Julian Edelman has been thriving without the Patriots.

Ever since the two-time Super Bowl champion went down with a torn ACL in August, the Pats have, well, made their case as repeat Super Bowl contenders, entering Week 14 atop the AFC at 10-2.

Edelman, meanwhile, has become a New York Times best-selling author thanks to his October memoir "Relentless," and now he's ready to drop his second book of the year: "Flying High 2," the sequel to his 2016 thriller -- er, children's book -- on "perseverance, passion and acorns," is slated to hit shelves on Friday at JE11.com.

The book, a collaboration between Edelman and his creative partner Assaf Swissa, illustrated by David Leonard and published by Superdigital, follows in the footsteps of the hero from the original "Flying High:"

The book, a second in the series, is about a scrappy squirrel named Jules who teaches young readers about persevering and believing in themselves. Back with his toughest challenge yet, Jules teams up with his friends Tom the Goat, Danny the Fox and Dont'a the Rhino to face the furious falcons.

If getting a glimpse at Tom the Goat (that's G.O.A.T.) doesn't make the book immediately worth a buy, then what does?

Maybe the surprise appearance of Bill "The Owl" Belichick teased by Edelman on Twitter Thursday?

Or maybe the fact that Edelman's super squirrel tales are loosely based on true events. The first edition of the "Flying High" series notes that the injured Patriots receiver "grew up among the Redwood trees of Northern California" and earned the nickname "Squirrel" in professional football because he's "small, speedy and energetic."