Shake The Shivers

As summer eases into fall in the northern climes, colors shift from shades of green to hues of red, orange, yellow and brown.  A clear, sharpness invades the very air as temperatures cool and humidity drops. Pumpkins, gourds, corn shocks, bales of hay and brightly-colored mums appear in nurseries, farmers' markets, along city streets, in front of shops and around neighborhoods.  Months before the calendar page turns from September to October, stores will begin to display all manner of Halloween costumes and decorations.

In schools and homes an extra current of excitement pulses as guys and gals, family and friends get ready for the spookiest time of the year.  It only makes sense our panic-prone, super-sensitive, furry friend from the forest is not only ready but willing to share his helpful hints with all of us.  Scaredy Squirrel prepares for Halloween: A Safety Guide for Scaredies (Kids Can Press) written and illustrated by Melanie Watt, is packed with preparations.

WARNING!
Scaredy Squirrel insists that
everyone avoid reading this
Safety Guide during a full moon.

With this cautionary sentence in mind, after checking the date for the moon's phases, and reading Scaredy Squirrel's admonishments concerning the handling and transportation of this timely manual, readers are directed to a Contents.  Our fearful leader leaves no acorn ungathered with these section headings:

• Preface
• Halloween Is Coming
• Halloween Decorations
• Halloween Costumes
• Halloween Trick-Or-Treating
• Halloween Candy
• Halloween Notes
• Halloween Fun and
• If All Else Fails...

True to form Scaredy Squirrel needs us to understand him; devoting two pages each to his background and over-the-top behavior, the option of taking a multiple (two) choice quiz to test yourself on Halloween and the safety guide's planned purpose. 

First and foremost we need to protect our immediate living quarters from all forms of frightening figures which may or may not intrude, using six specific items, one of which happens to be a blender. (After laughing at this, it's unsettling how his reasoning makes sense.)  Precautions in place, werewolves, witches, vampires, ghosts, black cats and creepy crawlers will not dare to scare.  Succinct step-by-step instructions are given for the selection of pumpkins and the art of careful carving.  The most unlikely means of making sound effects to accompany your outdoor decor are given along with a visual example of a haunting, entrancing home.  Not to be overlooked, dos and don'ts for three possible schemes for inside adornment are given.

By theme, rating them on a meter, unscary, scary and terrifying, Scaredy Squirrel gives readers not five, not ten, not fifteen, not twenty but twenty-four possible costume ideas.  Plan on having vacuum hoses, ping-pong balls and safety cones handy if you find his DIY spider and sea urchin costumes appealing. (You might be close to hysteria now.)  Like every good escapade a map is a must; more twists and turns make it better.

Treats in all shapes and sizes are scrutinized. Alarming qualities of apples, monsters and haunted houses are analyzed.  Food and fun for the perfect party are itemized.  Scaredy Squirrel leaves readers with a frank, final piece of advice illustrating fakery at its finest.

Book by book, with every reading of each title, we readers continue to learn and laugh as the lovable traits of Scaredy Squirrel are revealed by his creator, Melanie Watt.  Puns and word play are the order of the day.  Her technique of employing short sentences, identifying labels, numbered instructions, astute asides and A Scaredy Squirrel Tip! reach out to the reader.   Even a novice to the series will be caught up in the comical details, the lengths taken, by this nut tree lover. A couple of examples are given below.

Notepad

(an unforgettable item)

Scaredy's To-Do List

√ Panic

√ Draw up a plan

√ Prepare for the worst

√ Make lists

√ Let imagination run wild

A GHOULISH INTERIOR

(But Not Too Ghoulish)

Decorate your living room without making it look too scary.

Going overboard could freak you out!

SOCK There's nothing worse than a lost sock to reek havoc!

CRYSTAL BALL A mystical addition that guests could not have predicted.

Beginning with the spine on the jacket and cover, the title framed in spider webs, to Scaredy Squirrel attired in his best vampire look, Melanie Watt, haunts us with hilarity.  Orange, black and purple colors dominate her illustrations rendered in charcoal, pencil and Photoshop.  Framing individual elements in her solid black lines, our eyes are asked to stop and look.

Circles, squares, rows of two or three, single and double pages spreads are treats not tricks for her creative pictorial presentations; designed to keep our attention.  Each of the headings showcase Scaredy Squirrel in a circle wearing appropriate attire, holding an item, or his facial features are expressing an emotion as his other fingers number the chapters.  On the opposite page he sits in his oak tree hinting at the contents.  Several of my favorite double-page spreads are The Trick-Or-Treating Map with the Urban Legend, the haunted mansion pages with a list of hints, A Scaredy Tip! and notes spread throughout the yard and house and his Halloween party in full swing.

From her Scaredy Squirrel In A Nutshell introduction, chapter by chapter, describing all things Halloween, Melanie Watt in Scaredy Squirrel prepares for Halloween: A Safety Guide For Scaredies, assists readers in celebrating this creepy holiday.  Every time I've read this I've discovered some new phrase, laughed aloud again at Scaredy Squirrel's looks or seen an extra tiny illustration previously missed.  Fans of this day, fans of Scaredy Squirrel, and fans of fun in general, will love this book.

Please follow the link embedded in Melanie Watt's name to access her blog.  There is a link in Scaredy Squirrel's name to direct readers to his home page.  Here is a link to four coloring pages for this title.

Into The Great Outdoors

The attraction of tents, whether shaped by quilts and chairs in the solace of your home or by any number of commercial manufacturers for use outdoors in any season, is undisputed.  There is a comfortable coziness inside especially at night within the warm glow from a flashlight or lantern.  Depending on where your tent is located (bedroom, backyard, National Park or wilderness), the sounds and visitors in the night, or day, may vary.

While most people at one point in their lives have reaped the benefits of camping outdoors in a tent, there are others who never have or never will partake in this form of adventure.  They prefer the risk factor of staying home versus venturing into the unknown.  As readers of the series can probably guess, Scaredy Squirrel falls into the former category. Little does our worry-wart friend know but in Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping (Kids Can Press) written and illustrated by Melanie Watts, life has one surprise after another in store for him.

Scaredy Squirrel never goes camping.

It's too unpredictable and needs more effort than he is willing to invest.  There are six, no more, no less, problems which might arise, skunks, zippers, mosquitoes, quicksand, penguins, and The Three Bears. (Are you laughing yet?  I am.)

He's got the perfect plan for camping without ever leaving his snug dwelling.  Television guide in hand, he's made a mental list of camping and adventure shows to watch.  Hmmmm....there is one small hitch though.  Scaredy Squirrel needs to complete the successful navigation to the nearest electrical outlet. 

Mr. Ready-For-Any Disaster begins preparations.  His necessary supplies make no sense at all unless paired with the aforementioned hazards; his logic defies explanation.  His attire from head to toe including a nose plug for whiffy smells and a penny for good luck will promote happiness...he thinks.  Every detail is considered.  There is a time schedule. A map from home to goal with notes for using the supplies is an essential.

With physical training successfully finished and the weather and natural phenomenon (volcanic eruptions) monitored, our "Nervous Nellie"  skitters along his pre-determined route until...gigantic trouble looms into his vision.  Fright ensues. All plans are abandoned in light of sheer survival.  Hours later Scaredy Squirrel makes a discovery which, he has to admit, changes his outlook about the outdoors.

Melanie Watt has created in the character of Scaredy Squirrel a means to face fears with silly, super-readiness. From the first page covered in zippers containing a message:

WARNING!
Scaredy Squirrel insists you check your zippers before reading this book.

followed by the title page showing him, eyes closed wearing a hat with netting as a mosquito waits at the ready, readers are treated to this little guy's special brand of thinking.  With short, matter-of-fact sentences, single word labels, explanatory guidelines and comments we are privy to the process in this latest episode.  His postscript sums up the entire narrative in a nutshell...acorn specifically.

Digitally rendered illustrations in natural shades of greens, browns, rusty oranges with red accents color Scaredy Squirrel's world.  The expressions on his face whether relaxing, in conversation, fearful, determinedly planning or at ease in blissful enjoyment are fully animated, charming and hilarious.  For emphasis he may appear in a circle within another picture. Rows of squares, two-page spreads, diagrams, maps, instructions, charts, and single page visuals match the mood of the story to perfection.


All year long in the "W" area of fiction there is a gaping hole where the Scaredy Squirrel books would be shelved. They are returned and leave again on the same day; sometimes in the same class period.  Fans of the series are going to love this newest installment by Melanie Watt, Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping.  Even if you've never read a Scaredy Squirrel title, this one is not to be missed.  How could you not read this book, looking at the face on the jacket and cover?  Pair it with your other camping books, funny books or those books to be read over and over.

A link to Melanie Watt's blog is embedded in her name above. She has lots of extras, several book trailers for other books in the series.  Scaredy Squirrel has his own website linked above.  Follow this link to a couple of activity pages. 

"Watt" Are You Waiting For?

Melanie Watt....just reading that name makes a giggle start to well up inside that eventually bursts forth in a loud guffaw.  Copies of her Scaredy Squirrel and Chester books are hardly lonely on the shelves of our library media center but are being held in the hands of students who have eagerly waited to check them out as soon as they are returned. 

When I spotted You're Finally Here! in a local bookstore, I knew that my readers would love it.

Book jacket flaps proclaim YOU'RE HERE!  YOU'RE HERE! amidst the carrot crammed endpapers.  The first two page spread oozes happiness as the wide-eyed rabbit cartwheels, sings, plays maracas and an ukulele with joyful abandon only to come to a screeching halt.  Turning to the next two page spread readers are greeted with BUT WHERE WERE YOU? covering the entire left side as a large accusing bunny head with hands on hips partners it on the right.

Yes, you the reader after a hearty welcome are on the spot.  As the tale continues readers are questioned:  Do you know how long I've been waiting in here?...Do you know how BORED  I get when I'm waiting?...Do you know how UNFAIR it is to keep me waiting?...Do you know how ANNOYING it is to have to wait?  Each question is followed by a picture foursome with probable answers, silly as they may be, that clearly call for readers to connect and recall their own frustrations at having to wait. 
Several times bunny backs up to a lesser mode of rudeness trying to gather in the previous glee at having you present, finally coming to a compromise in the form of a contract that concludes with,  And oh yes, YOU, the reader, will provide ME, the bunny, with carrot treats every day.
Is that the end?  Of course not, Melanie Watt (or the bunny) has a twist in her paw.

Watt has stated in interviews that she enjoys and is inspired by the work of Mo Willems, but her style is clearly her own, adding layers to original thoughts that call forth humor prompted by exaggeration. As in her other books the use of bold, bright acrylic color add to the brashness of her bunny character and his mood swings. WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?  WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID?  No, but this post is finished and I'm getting ready to start laughing again as the pages turn in You're Finally Here!