SCARDY SQUIRREL
Scaredy Squirrel
Written and Illustrated by: Melanie Watt
Kids Can Press Ltd., 2006
32 pages
Fiction
I decided to choose this book to read
after opening it to a random page to get an idea of the story. From the start
the story made me laugh, therefore, I had to read it. Scaredy Squirrl is a story about a squirrel that never leaves his
nut tree because he is too scared of the unknown. Scaredy is scared of
everything such as bees, germs, poison ivy, and sharks; however, Scaredy is
prepared for anything. Scaredy has a safety kit. Everyday, Scaredy follows a strike
schedule and routine that ensures him that he will never encounter the unknown
until one particular day. Something happened that day that was so unpredictable
that it changed him forever. As it turned out, the unknown was not so bad after
all.
The illustrations in the book are
simple and created using charcoal pencils and acrylic. The story’s text and
pictures are periodically done as listings and charts. The charts are of Scardey’s schedule which
includes drawings of clocks that indicates the time and of his planning. Also,
a select few pages use a picture in place of a word. I feel that the illustrations
are helpful for children to get an idea as to how schedules are sometimes
written and how jotting can tell a story.
Scaredy
Squirrel has not won any awards, but it has been recognized by many. The author,
Melanie Watt, has also written other books about Scardey and his new
adventures. I believe this book could create many different lessons for
children such as how to write a schedule, how to tell time, the days of the
week, advantages verses disadvantages, how to make lists, and how to plan. I
also believe it makes for a great classroom discussion on not being afraid of
taking small risks and how everyone is scared of something. I would ask
students about things that might scare them to start them off in reading this
story. The story is appropriate for children preschool and up.
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