Joe Swanson writes a children's book about a "hopeful squirrel" who seeks to achieve his goals despite being handicapped. Julian Edelman also wrote a children's book about a squirrel who wanted to play football with the other animals despite being the smallest. This is another homage to the New England Patriots.
In one scene, Lois makes an oblique reference to the Boston Marathon bombing. Mark Wahlberg, the lead in Seth MacFarlane's Ted (2012) films, also stars in Patriots Day (2016), a dramatization of the bombing and the manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers.
In this episode Joe Swanson writes a children's book about a squirrel. Patrick Warburton, who voices Joe, also voices Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove, a man who can speak with squirrels.