Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Scaredy Squirrel
Picture Book Series
For ages 4 to 8
Kids Can Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-1553379591
Scaredy Squirrel is the type of animal who does not like to venture beyond the immediate neighborhood of his home. In Scaredy's case this means that he does not like to leave the safety of his tree. After all there are all kinds of dreadful things in the "unknown" world that Scaredy is afraid of and wants to avoid. These include: germs, killer bees, poison ivy, and sharks. Of course being this cautious can have its disadvantages. For one thing Scaredy's life is rather predictable. One could even go so far as to say that it is a mite boring. Scaredy helps alleviate this somewhat by constantly looking for coming danger and by making sure that his emergency kit - complete with a parachute, net, band-air and hard hat - is ready and on hand. He also spends time coming up with a number of escape plans just in case something unexpected happen.
Then, one day, Scaredy does indeed experience something unexpected. His emergency kit falls to the ground and he finds himself unable to execute any of his escape plans. But he also finds out something truly fascinating about himself which changes his life and his outlook forever.
With bold graphics, amusing diagrams, and a thoroughly delightful character to tell the story, this picture book will make even the most scaredy reader smile or laugh. Many readers may find that they recognize a little of themselves in this ever watchful and cautious squirrel and they might even wonder if they too, like Scaredy, need to take the plunge into the unknown every so often just to see what happens.
