Scaredy never sleeps -- sleep might mean bad dreams about dragons, ghosts, vampire bats and polka-dot monsters. Our wide-eyed hero has a plan: stay awake all night, every night. Between counting stars, playing cymbals and making scrapbooks, he does a good job of avoiding dreamland. With exhaustion taking its toll, Scaredy comes face-to-face with an alarming horoscope prediction: All his dreams are about to come true! He must prepare for the worst and his Bad Dream Action Plan includes a fire extinguisher to snuff out dragons and a fan to blast away ghosts. But when disaster strikes, will Scaredy survive this ordeal? Will he thank his lucky stars? Will he find sweet dreams? Scaredy Squirrel at Night tackles a fear everyone -- and especially the young -- can relate to. It's a bedtime story to make light of kids' fear of the dark and a fable for our sleep-deprived society.
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Children will be delighted as Scaredy Squirrel attempts to face his fear of falling asleep because of bad dreams, and they'll laugh at his absurd lists and action plans. Although the ending is predictable, youngsters will sigh with relief as he finally nods off. The layout includes multiple images as he makes lists and carries out his plans to stay awake all night. The cartoon illustrations, rendered digitally in Photoshop, capture the action and are filled with humorous details. This could be a useful title for guiding children in developing lists and action plans. It would be interesting to see how they would ward off bad dreams.—Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Fretful, neurotic Scaredy, star of Scaredy Squirrel (2006) and Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach (2008), once again confronts his fears. This time, Scaredy is too terrified to sleep, and on lively pages formatted as charts and diagrams, he presents potential night visitors (unicorns, polka-dotted monsters) and how he will guard against them (molasses, banana peels). Some vocabulary words will be a stretch for a young audience (hallucinations, drowsiness), but kids will be amused by the lively, busy compositions packed with silly details, and those who share Scaredy’s insomniac tendencies will enjoy the reassuring outcome. Grades K-3. --Gillian Engberg
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More About the Author
Melanie Watt lives in Montreal, Quebec. She is the author and illustrator of a number of children's books including Scaredy Squirrel and Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Melanie Watt knows a good thing when she creates it and millions of readers agree. We have all fallen for Scaredy Squirrel. I love his name, his overly white rectangular smile and his neuroses. Yes, his *foolproof* plans are destined to fail from the get-go, but it's highly entertaining to watch him plot so carefully, only to tailspin into a wild panic.
We shouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of the dark. Technically, he's not afraid of the actual dark, but rather of the bad dreams he could have if he were to fall asleep at night. There are many terrible things that might appear in his dreams, including, but not limited to dragons, monsters, bats and fairies. Scaredy has found a solution to his problem: NO sleeping. He stays awake by being a busy beaver, er, squirrel.
Our furry friend creates a list of activities to keep him so busy that he won' t have a chance to even flutter his eyelids. Night after night, he avoids sleeping. Unfortunately, there are some side effects to sleep deprivation, not the least of which is exhaustion. In typical fashion, Scaredy puts together an action plan, involving a detailed schematic. This one is particularly entertaining as it employs molasses, cupcakes and traffic cones.
Luckily for the readers, Scaredy's plan is (as usual) an unqualified failure. A horde of hungry raccoons invade the scene, causing him to panic and ... you'll have to read the book to find out. In true Melanie Watt fashion, there is plenty of humor and scads of action. Scaredy Squirrel is his own worst enemy, worrying about the worst case scenarios and desperately trying to avoid them. He's a nut for sure, but we love reading about him and his hare brained adventures!
We shouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of the dark. Technically, he's not afraid of the actual dark, but rather of the bad dreams he could have if he were to fall asleep at night. There are many terrible things that might appear in his dreams, including, but not limited to dragons, monsters, bats and fairies. Scaredy has found a solution to his problem: NO sleeping. He stays awake by being a busy beaver, er, squirrel.
Our furry friend creates a list of activities to keep him so busy that he won' t have a chance to even flutter his eyelids. Night after night, he avoids sleeping. Unfortunately, there are some side effects to sleep deprivation, not the least of which is exhaustion. In typical fashion, Scaredy puts together an action plan, involving a detailed schematic. This one is particularly entertaining as it employs molasses, cupcakes and traffic cones.
Luckily for the readers, Scaredy's plan is (as usual) an unqualified failure. A horde of hungry raccoons invade the scene, causing him to panic and ... you'll have to read the book to find out. In true Melanie Watt fashion, there is plenty of humor and scads of action. Scaredy Squirrel is his own worst enemy, worrying about the worst case scenarios and desperately trying to avoid them. He's a nut for sure, but we love reading about him and his hare brained adventures!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The newest book (book 4 of 4) from Melanie Watt about her character Scaredy Squirrel. My 1st graders LOVE him! He is too funny! In this book Scaredy is afraid of bad dreams...so he comes up with a plan to not go to sleep! A very detailed and well thought out plan. The kids love his obsessive compulsiveness and his need to plan and list everything out. And of course, if the plan doesn't work--he can always "play dead" (a continual back up plan in all the books)! Highly recommend all the Scaredy Squirrel books...a sure fire hit with kids!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Scaredy Squirrel tackles issues that mean something to little people. In this particular installment in the series, Scaredy must face up to one of his worst fears--the dark. He is terrified of such things as Polka Dot Monsters and unicorns and does his best to avoid falling asleep by keeping himself busy with such hobbies as playing the cymbals. He has also devised the perfect plan for driving off dread intruders but, as with all of Scaredy's plans, things go awry and he ends up falling back on his fool-proof technique of playing dead.
Once again, Watt has created a book that is adorable and funny but yet addresses a real-world issue for small children. Scaredy's fears aren't that different from those of most children but they seem so silly and his methods for avoiding his fears are so outrageous that they provide plenty of laugh out loud moments. One of the best parts of the book comes about when Scaredy turns his spotlight on and the "monsters" that had been lurking on the previous page are revealed. Watt has found a humorous way of showing why there is no reason to fear the dark and yet she has done so in a way that is anything but condescending. She has real intuition when it comes to the way little ones think and so even though we know Scaredy's fears are silly, he is an object of our sympathy and affection rather than our ridicule.
One of my favorite features of Watt's books are the Easter eggs that can be found on the flaps. The author information always contains something relevant to the plot of each book. The descriptions of the story are also enjoyable. There is a disclaimer in the description of this book that lets the reader know that it isn't suitable for unicorns.
Watt is an immensely talented author and artist and now that we've devoured everything she's written, it's going to prove difficult to wait for something new. I know that we will snap it up as soon as it becomes available.
Once again, Watt has created a book that is adorable and funny but yet addresses a real-world issue for small children. Scaredy's fears aren't that different from those of most children but they seem so silly and his methods for avoiding his fears are so outrageous that they provide plenty of laugh out loud moments. One of the best parts of the book comes about when Scaredy turns his spotlight on and the "monsters" that had been lurking on the previous page are revealed. Watt has found a humorous way of showing why there is no reason to fear the dark and yet she has done so in a way that is anything but condescending. She has real intuition when it comes to the way little ones think and so even though we know Scaredy's fears are silly, he is an object of our sympathy and affection rather than our ridicule.
One of my favorite features of Watt's books are the Easter eggs that can be found on the flaps. The author information always contains something relevant to the plot of each book. The descriptions of the story are also enjoyable. There is a disclaimer in the description of this book that lets the reader know that it isn't suitable for unicorns.
Watt is an immensely talented author and artist and now that we've devoured everything she's written, it's going to prove difficult to wait for something new. I know that we will snap it up as soon as it becomes available.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
not as expected
Cute book but not as good as I thought it would be. My son is 4 and afraid of the dark. In ways this book made my son a little more nervous. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jen M N
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent
love this series book is great, kids love it. jafdj ajfodj jafdp adfdja ajdfpj afjdjp a jfpdj ajfpdj adj afj
Published 4 months ago by StacyR
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sleep Tight with Scaredy Squirrel
Melanie Watts has written some of our favorite books in our house. Scaredy Squirrel is off on another adventure, surviving the night in this installation of the Scaredy Squirrel... Read more
Published 5 months ago by The Jenny Evolution
5.0 out of 5 stars
Squirrels
This is a new series to me, but my grandson loves Scaredy Squirrel. This is a paperback book - but should last unless it is tossed around.
Published 5 months ago by Deborah Mikota
2.0 out of 5 stars
I like Scaredy Squirrel, but who needs a horoscope in a children's...
Meh.
Scaredy Squirrel is an adorable character, and we really liked him at the beach.
But in this book, he looks at his horoscope to make sure everything is... Read more
Scaredy Squirrel is an adorable character, and we really liked him at the beach.
But in this book, he looks at his horoscope to make sure everything is... Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. Heiss
5.0 out of 5 stars
LoOOOOoooOOOoove It!
I just love the Scaredy Squirrel books! My daughter loves them too :)
Would recommend these to every family!! A new family favorite and a must get!
Would recommend these to every family!! A new family favorite and a must get!
Published 7 months ago by Paint2bme
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love the Squirrel day or night!
Great book for kids and adults. Children can relate to some of Scaredy Squirrel's fears and together they can overcome them. Must get the puppet, it drives the "nuts".
Published 7 months ago by LUCY
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Scaredy Squirrel...
In my favorite Scaredy Squirrel book, Scaredy Squirrel is too scared to sleep! He makes a plan to stay up all night, and like all of Scaredy Squirrel's plans, this one goes all... Read more
Published 8 months ago
1.0 out of 5 stars
disappointed to have horoscopes
My 3rd grader brought this book home because it looked fun and interesting. The story is fine until the signs of the horoscope are included and said find out what the stars... Read more
Published 16 months ago by stogner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scaredy hones in on a real fear in book 4.
Melanie Watt, Scaredy Squirrel at Night (Kids Can Press, 2009)
Scaredy returns in his fourth installment, which is actually the first that really seems to address a... Read more
Scaredy returns in his fourth installment, which is actually the first that really seems to address a... Read more
Published on February 9, 2011 by Robert P. Beveridge
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