Review: Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Melanie Watt

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Kristilyn

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Title: Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping
Author: Melanie Watt
Series: Scaredy Squirrel
Date(s) read: March 4, 2013
Genre: Picture book
Source: Publisher / Netgalley

Scaredy Squirrel is not too comfortable with the idea of camping ? unless it’s on his couch! There will be no mosquitoes, skunks or zippers to worry about when he watches a show about the joys of camping on his brand-new TV. But first Scaredy must find an electrical outlet, and that means going into the woods! Will the nutty worrywart’s plans prepare him for the great outdoors, or will his adventure end up as a scary story told around the campfire?

Thank you to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book for review!

I absolutely LOVE Scaredy Squirrel, so when I saw this book up on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it! I’ve read all of the books in the series and find myself smiling with each one. Scaredy Squirrel is the cutest little character and offers wonderful advice to ALL readers.

As usual, the drawings and colours are spot on! Melanie Watt is a wonderful artist and I love all of her renditions of this little squirrel. The idea of him going camping was fun since camping is SUCH a dangerous activity and we all know that our little squirrel doesn’t like any activity that might be dangerous (I mean, those zippers can be VERY hazardous!). Continue reading →

BOOK REVIEW: Have I Got A Book For You!, by Melanie Watt

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Kristilyn

RELEASE DATE: July 23, 2009
AUTHOR LINKS: WEB / GOODREADS
PUBLISHER: Kids Can Press
FORMAT: Hardcover
SOURCE: Library
CHALLENGE: None
BUY NOW FROM: Amazon

Mr. Al Foxword is one persistent salesman! He will do just about anything to sell you this book. Al tries every trick of the trade. But just when you’re ready to close the book on him, he comes up with a clever tactic you simply can’t refuse!

MY REVIEW

I adore Melanie Watt. When a friend of mine introduced me to her Scaredy Squirrel series of books and to Chester, I fell in love. Even though, at that point, I was in my late twenties, closer to thirty than I am to six-years-old, I couldn’t help falling for the cute little squirrel, or the big, fat cat — Watt’s stories and drawings are unique, fun, and full of colour. Continue reading →

BOOK REVIEW: I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Kristilyn

RELEASE DATE: September 27, 2011
AUTHOR LINKS: WEB / TWITTER / GOODREADS / FACEBOOK
PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press
FORMAT: Hardcover
SOURCE: Library
BUY NOW FROM: Amazon

A picture-book delight by a rising talent tells a cumulative tale with a mischievous twist.

The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a vengeance. Told completely in dialogue, this delicious take on the classic repetitive tale plays out in sly illustrations laced with visual humor– and winks at the reader with a wry irreverence that will have kids of all ages thrilled to be in on the joke.

MY REVIEW

I have a confession to make: I am 30-years-old and I love picture books. When I’m looking for a picture book, I want something unique, something that has great pictures (obviously), and something that’ll make me think at the end. Jon Klassen’s book, I Want My Hat Back, fits the bill. Continue reading →