Scared Silly [Hardcover]

Sara Desmet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2006 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A possum, an anteater, and a pig decide to join forces and explore the deepest, darkest depths of the forest each night. But something spoils their fun. The possum, who cannot stop scaring the others, drives his friends away. He soon sees that friendship is as much about compromise as it is about fun.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Written and wonderfully illustrated by Sara Desmet, Scared Silly is a picturebook adventure about three animal friends in a dark and scary forest. They meet and play regularly, but one day the opossum decided to play a prank and scare his buddies! When he repeatedly startles them even though they ask him to stop playing tricks, they stop coming to visit. Is this the end of their beautiful friendship? Scared Silly is mildly text-heavy for a picturebook, and good for parents to read aloud, or for young readers who are almost ready to start reading chapter books. The wild and ever-so-slightly chaotic illustrative style is perfect for setting the spooky mode of this tale about learning to respect and be good to one's best friends. Highly recommended. --Children's Bookwatch (Midwest Book Review), Feb. 2007

An anteater, a pig and an opossum: not my favorite animals. Alistar, Melvin and Harvey: not my favorite names. Still, to paraphrase a Tom Chapin song, they're so weird and ugly, they're cute. Harvey (the opossum) stumbles into the other two while out on his nightly constitutional. Al and Mel, day creatures both, are on their first nocturnal adventure and not being especially brave about it. And that''s Harvey''s problem. Even after befriending them, he gets his jollies by spooking them. Only funny to you, rat-tail. I was expecting the marsupial who cried wolf here, and was almost rooting for Harvey to become a predator''s midnight snack. You know some sort of lesson is coming, but it''s not that one. Instead, the tables are turned, and there''s a jot of scientific realism when Harvey, well, plays possum. Desmet''s another college student making her first mark with Red Cygnet Press, and her detailed watercolors capture those dark, spooky woods in somber shades. She can render each whisker on a furry snout, or the shredded fabric on Harvey's sofa, and yet the whole thing has a delightful absurdity to it. Rating: *\*\ (Very Good) --BookBuds, December 2006

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Red Cygnet Press, Inc.; 1st edition (September 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601080093
• ISBN-13: 978-1601080097
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,282,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sara DeSmet recently authored and illustrated her first children's book, Scared Silly. It is published by Red Cygnet Press of San Diego, California. Her illustrations focus on the spooky and fun-filled adventures of three characters: an anteater, pig and opossum. Animals have always been featured in her artwork with her love of texture and detail. She grew up in rural Minnesota where observation from nature was an early inspiration in her work. Now imagination plays just as important of a role in her illustrations.

She has been influenced by the remarkable work for children's literature of Maurice Sendak and Etienne Delessert, and the writings of Bruno Bettelheim on fairytales and fantasy.

DeSmet is the recipient of a number of awards and honors including a scholarship from the Central Minnesota Arts Board. She has also been recognized with a life drawing award from California State University Long Beach.

Her work is in private and public collections. These include collections at the Roy and Patricia Disney Cancer Center in Burbank, CA and the Dittmann Art and Dance Center in Northfield, MN.

After attending St Olaf College in Northfield, MN and receiving her BA summa cum laude in art and psychology, she moved to Long Beach, California. She studied illustration at California State University Long Beach and received an MFA in art. She currently resides in Irvine, CA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wild and ever-so-slightly chaotic illustrative style is perfect for setting the spooky mode of this tale, February 3, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scared Silly (Hardcover)

Written and wonderfully illustrated by Sara Desmet, Scared Silly is a picturebook adventure about three animal friends in a dark and scary forest. They meet and play regularly, but one day the opossum decided to play a prank and scare his buddies! When he repeatedly startles them even though they ask him to stop playing tricks, they stop coming to visit. Is this the end of their beautiful friendship? Scared Silly is mildly text-heavy for a picturebook, and good for parents to read aloud, or for young readers who are almost ready to start reading chapter books. The wild and ever-so-slightly chaotic illustrative style is perfect for setting the spooky mode of this tale about learning to respect and be good to one's best friends. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Works, October 22, 2006

By 

M. Shari Heitke "Shari Heitke" (Paynesville MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scared Silly (Hardcover)

What a delightful story about getting along with others, one of life's most important lessons. The illustrations are full of detail and are fun to explore.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must have!, September 19, 2006

By 

Mai Stewart (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scared Silly (Hardcover)

The story is wildly fun and the drawings playful, but not without meaning and lesson. The characters are totally accessable and I believe, children will be able to relate to immediately with their expressions and ideas. There are small details in the background that a child can have fun to notice on their own and dive even deeper into the world Sara Desmet has created. I think that this is a book every family should have on their bookshelf-- adults can remember such moments in their own childhood while kids can simply enjoy the story and the beautiful illustrations.