Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly (Scaredy's Nutty Adventures, Book 4)

Written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

Tundra Books

978-1-77488-884-1 (pb)

84 pp.

Ages 4–8 

July 2026

 

I didn't get a chance to review this book of Scaredy's Nutty Adventures when it was released as a hardcover in 2024, so I'm pleased to review it now that a paperback edition was just released this month. When Scaredy Squirrel was first released in 2006, he became a beloved character. Mélanie Watt brought us a little squirrel who was overwhelmed, seeing threats everywhere. Now the star of his own animated series, as well as picture books and this early reader graphic novel series, Scaredy Squirrel is a much beloved character to helps young children see beyond their worries by laughing with him.

From Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

In Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly, Mélanie Watt shares five short graphic stories about Scaredy and his relationship with Halloween. In the first chapter, titled "October 31st," our sciurine friend is actually looking forward to the un-scary aspects of the holiday. He likes the decorations and the lighting, but he's terrified of haunted houses, crows, vampire bats, and more. So, he's happy to stay in his cheerfully decorated tree, along with some unusual preventative measures.

From Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

The next stories have Scaredy planning a cute, but not scary pumpkin carving activity with his friends, working on his costume, considering going trick-or-treating—hard candy, gummy worms, and chocolate all have drawbacks—before heading out in search of candy apples.

From Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

It may seem a little early to be thinking of Halloween, but I suspect there are many for whom the holiday is a big deal and who are already planning their costumes and parties. Whether you get Scaredy Squirrel now in anticipation of the holiday or keep it to read in October, Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly will give young children a lot of laughs about his wacky but legitimate worries. Scaredy Squirrel may seem like an excessive bundle of anxiety, but he emulates the many children who have misgivings and fears about the familiar and the unknown. With a lighthearted approach and quirky and colourful illustrations, Mélanie Watt will let children see that many anxieties can be lessened and even alleviated with some friendly intervention and a new perspective.

From Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

Mélanie Watt's Scaredy Squirrel will always charm. She has created him as sweetly guileless—check out his toothy grin—and oddly expressive. And with detailed illustrations that give young readers much to enjoy, from costumes to decorated homes, readers will be looking forward to their own nutty Halloween adventure and all that it entails.

 

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 

 

This is Book 4 in Scaredy's Nutty Adventures series. Here are all published titles:

Scaredy Squirrel in a Nutshell (2021)
Scaredy Squirrel Gets a Surprise (2022)
Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive (2023)

Scaredy Squirrel Scared Silly (2024) 

Firefly: Virtual Book Launch

 

Join author

  

 Philippa Dowding

 

Photo by Andrea Gutsche

 

for the launch 

 

of her newest middle grade novel

Firefly

Written by Philippa Dowding
DCB
978-1-77086-598-3
200 pp.
Ages 9-12
February 2021

Reviewed here
 

on

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

 

6-7 p.m. (EST)

 

via Zoom

 

 

Register for this free online event

at

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/virtual-launch-firefly-by-philippa-dowding-tickets-140871330943

 

 

 I'm pleased to announce 

that I will be interviewing Philippa Dowding about Firefly 

so please come and check out the launch

• • •

This event is sponsored by 

 

publisher DCB/Cormorant Books

 

and

 

Another Story Bookshop

 

with 

 

Thunder Thighs Costumes

 (***There's a chance to win a few costume rental!!!***) 

• • • • • • • 

 

For a taste of Firefly, do check out Philippa Dowding's book trailer and reading of an excerpt from the book for a taste of what the book launch will offer.

 

Firefly Book Trailer

Uploaded to YouTube by Philippa Dowding on October 7, 2020.

 

 

Philippa Dowding Reads from FIREFLY, about a carrot costume ...

Uploaded to YouTube by Philippa Dowding on February 10, 2021.

Malaika's Costume

by Nadia L. Hohn

Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-754-2

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

March 2016

Bring in the sunshine of the islands and the colours of Carnival and Trinidad and Tobago with Malaika's Costume which launches tomorrow in Toronto.

Young Malaika is anticipating her first Carnival without her mother who has moved to Canada to make a better life for Malaika and Grandma.  She is hopeful that her mother will be sending money for a costume, as promised.  But a letter arrives that has Grandma pulling out a “tired costume. It smell funny and it dusty.  The costume squeeze my belly and some of the sequins fall off.  I feel hot and itchy.”  Distraught, Malaika runs through the familiar streets of her community until a kaiso song reminds her of her grandmother and that being poor does not mean being without dignity.

With donated scraps of fabric from Ms. Chin the tailor lady and Grandma’s help, an astounding peacock costume of red, blue, jade and purple, with gold and more is created, ultimately bringing the Carnival to her mother in Canada.

Nadia L. Hohn has given Malaika’s Costume a rhythm that evokes the busyness and warmth of a community that nurtures and supports.  Even the young girl’s initial disappointment is tempered with the affection of her Grandma and the realization that she has so many good things in her life.  And the text, rich with dialogue of patois, ensures that the atmosphere was created for the ear as well as the eye.  Irene Luxbacher, whose own Mr. Frank (Groundwood, 2014) introduced the illustrator’s collage artwork, complements that text with brilliant and bold art that bombards the senses.  The colours are lush, the textures surreal and the balance of characters and setting make Malaika’s Costume as much a place to visit as a story to be told.

From Malaika's Costume by Nadia L. Hohn, illus. by Irene Luxbacher

Hold the Pickles

Written by Vicki Grant
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-55469-920-9
103 pp.
Ages10-14
2012

Dan Hogg, from Vicki Grant's Pigboy (Orca, 2006) is a little older but he still feels like the short, skinny guy whom girls ignore and whom guys think is weird.  But when his Uncle Hammy offers him $10/hour to wear a hotdog costume and handout samples of his new "Frank Lee Better" healthy hotdog, Dan grabs at the chance to make some money and eat free food, all in disguise.  Even better, the disguise makes him look taller and more muscular which is pretty important to a fifteen-year-old guy with braces, glasses and allergies.

Unfortunately, when a pretty girl approaches, Dan loses his balance (his center of gravity is a bit off, and his pickle feet are quite large) and knocks himself out.  Surprisingly, the girl, Brooke, sticks around and seems to enjoy chatting him up.  But, with another fall after an altercation with the nasty Cupcake Katie (who is no piece of cake), Brooke is nowhere to be found.  Then an angry guy in blue shows up, and Brooke begs Dan to help her evade Blue Boy.  Another fall, this time onto Blue Boy, and Uncle Hammy's hotdog costume isn't going to cut the mustard anymore.

Dan often has great ideas but things just don't work out very well.  For example, at this point, he doesn't relish showing Uncle Hammy the condition of the very expensive costume, or how little business he's been drumming up (most of the samples end up on the floor), so Dan decides it's best just to quit for the day.  But his plan is quickly forgotten when Brooke reappears, charming him once again, into making several very poor choices.  He's a fifteen-year-old and a girl is being nice to him.  What else could he do?

Luckily for Dan, things usually turn out all right in the end. So what if he ends up wrapped in toilet paper? It isn't as bad as running through the mall in only his white cotton underwear (that happens too). Of course, there is the theft of a lady's purse. But, like I said, Dan's hotdog escapade does resolve itself, probably just not the way he or the reader anticipates.

Vicki Grant is the "it" author for YA humour of the real world. She doesn't use supernatural elements or expect the reader to suspend belief. And she never condescends to the reader or her characters. She is frank (not furter) and empowers her characters to be bonafide teens, with many positive attributes, as well as a few foibles. Her stories are funny because they could be the anecdotes of any teen. In fact, I'm sure that somewhere a reader is remembering a similar incident to one from Hold the Pickles and laughing hysterically. For example, what guy hasn't had a friend tell him a girl was out of his league? But, when Shane tells Dan this, he encourages him with, "Don't be upset, old buddy. You'll find someone. Who knows? There's probably a nice little female meatball or chicken nugget prancing around here today who'd love to get to know a guy like you." (pg. 45) Even Dan wonders, "What guy longs to meet the meatball of his dreams?" (pg. 46).

There are many teens, most especially reluctant readers, who appreciate the hi-lo nature of the Orca Currents series: compelling characters, uncomplicated vocabulary, and contemporary plots in a short read. But it's Vicki Grant's comic stylings that make Hold the Pickles an exceptional Orca Currents book, as it elicits numerous laughs embellishing on the dilemmas of youth.