Customer Reviews

Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Scaredy Squirrel is off on an another adventure! Summer has arrived, but Scaredy knows the beach is rife with dangerous packs of pirates, mobs of lobsters, and flocks of seagulls. For safety's sake, he opts to build a faux beach right at the base of his own nut tree. His imaginative techniques and improvisational materials result in a satisfactorily realistic beach. The only missing ingredient - a soothing ocean sound.

Scaredy has no choice but to acquire a seashell from the real beach, a dangerous mission. For a phobic squirrel, a beach foray demands a time table, risk identification map, avoidance techniques, and protective body gear. Scaredy quickly discovers there is one variable he neglected to allow for and he is forced to adapt!

These pages are packed with clever little gems just waiting to be discovered. Scaredy's overly-detailed plans and goofy protective gear will have your kids giggling. This Squirrel is so endearing, you can't help but be won over by his quirky nature. He's got issues, but he's also got plenty of hustle and imagination. You gotta love that big toothy grin of his!

Melanie Watt, Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach (Kids Can Press, 2008)

Watt's third Scaredy Squirrel book is as cute as the first two, though she's really kind of stretching the agoraphobia thing a bit here (is Scaredy, despite his careful planning, really going to have the guts to get all the way from his tree to the beach without having a nervous breakdown?). That said, the second half of the book tells me that Watt has had an ulterior motive all the way through this series, and that it's going to surface in the next book or two. Can't wait to see if I'm right. And as always, the story is simple and amusing and the illustrations are bright and easy to grasp; kids will get a kick out of these, and they have the re-readability factor that assures parents won't get tired of them when the kid asks for you to read it just one more time before being packed off to bed. *** ½

This Book is about Scaredy planned to go to the beach. My favorite part is when he plays dead.My favorite character is Scaredy.

This Book is about Scaredy planned to go to the beach. My favorite part is when he plays dead.My favorite character is Scaredy.

The Scaredy Squirrel series features an adorable, but overly anxious squirrel who empowers himself by facing his fears and consequently learning that many of his fears are perhaps not to be feared at all, rather adventures and most importantly, opportunities for growth. The Scaredy series of books could be used as a tool to help very shy and/or anxious children to put their fears in perspective and perhaps realize that there is a difference between cautiousness and paranoia. My personal favorite in the SS series thus far is "Scaredy Squirrel", the first book in the series - well-crafted and to the point. Though these books are picture books, every child that I have read them to from the ages of 5-11 has laughed and enjoyed them right along with me - perhaps because there is a little "Scaredy" in each of us!

Scaredy Squirrel is a very cautious sort. As we have learned over the course of the series, he is something of a germaphobe and has an obsessive need to control his environment at all times. Naturally, the beach isn't the place for a squirrel of such compulsions. Still, even neurotic squirrels need to kick back and so Scaredy has created his own home "beach". He thoughtfully provides step-by-step instructions for completing a home beach and the drawings and text here are particularly funny. When it is completed, it looks quite nice but is missing one important element: that calming ocean sound.

This serves as the jumping-off point for Scaredy's quest to find the perfect shell to provide him with that last bit of ambiance necessary to his beach setup. I have a five-year-old daughter and am well acquainted with the irrational fears of young children. Scaredy shares these fears and refuses to go to the beach because he may find himself besieged by such horrors as packs of pirates and dread sea monsters.

What makes this series so enjoyable is the fact that Scaredy is a very lovable little rodent. His mishaps are outrageous and serve as a gentle example to children of how clinging to irrational fears can cheat one of some truly enjoyable and fulfilling experiences. It is when Scaredy's plans go awry in each book that he finds that things are not only not nearly as bad as he feared, they are actually quite wonderful.

There is a formula to these books that really works. The reader is always presented with Scaredy's particular fear for the book, with an elaborate plan of action for trying at all costs to avoid dealing with this fear, and with the ultimate collapse of his plans. The end result is his trying something new and finding it's not nearly as terrifying as he'd thought. These are extremely valuable messages for children, who are often afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone. If this little Scaredy squirrel can make it, then so can they.

Mélanie Watt's SCAREDY SQUIRREL AT THE BEACH has a bit deceptive at first glance. Okay, maybe deceptive isn't the correct term. The face of Scaredy Orville Squirrel on the cover is seriously cute, but get gets even cuter as the story goes on. Judging a book by its cover, I wasn't prepared for the overload of senses. Each page is busy, busy, busy - perfect for the busy mind of a child.

In SCAREDY SQUIRREL AT THE BEACH, Scaredy deals with his fear of going to the beach by vacationing at home. His well organized plan lands him at the beach, smack dab in the middle of a crowd of people. This wasn't part of the plan.

This latest Scaredy Squirrel adventure is a delightful addition to this already fun series.

My kids and I love these books. Very clever and entertaining for both the child and parent. Can't wait to see if more will be written. We have all three now.

...I should reiterate. "Scaredy Squirrel At The Beach", is another fabulous story from Melanie Watt and her adventures of our favorite "chicken", "Scaredy Squirrel".
The pictures, are once again, colorful and the lovable, "Scaredy", is as charming and funny as ever! This time, "Scaredy" is trying his best to enjoy a day out at the beach without scaring himself half to death! What follows is a charming and laughable story about our loveable furry-friend and his courage at meeting the world head on! The only snag to this book was the fact that my seven-year old was a little overwhelmed with all the dialogue to read and the "busy" pictures. I ended up having to read most of the story as he just found it a little too long and involved. But, with that said, this is still one of our all-time favorite books and we are thrilled to read it time and again!

From my seven-year old:
"Scaredy Orville Squirrel" should go to a FARM next to meet all the animals and other stuff!

The Scaredy Squirrel books are our favorite books. My husband and I even laugh out loud at these. My son got this one for his birthday, and the adults at the party enjoyed it as much as the kids. I hope there are many more Scaredy adventures to come!