Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

Many frightening things keep Scaredy Squirrel at home in his nut tree- tarantulas, poison ivy, green Martians, killer bees, germs, and sharks, to name a few. Sometimes the same old view and the same old nuts get boring, but life in the nut tree is safe and under control. Scaredy Squirrel is prepared with an emergency kit and an exit plan if he should ever have to embark beyond the tree. But Scaredy Squirrel is not prepared when a killer bee appears IN the tree. Mouth opened wide with terror at the smiling bee floating before him, he panics and knocks his emergency kit right out of the tree. It isn’t long before this timid squirrel finds himself outside of the tree as well. Melanie Watt’s simple watercolor illustrations poke gentle fun at a life lived too cautiously. Youngsters who live life on the edge may learn some lessons in safety and careful planning, while the more fastidious may be inspired by Scaredy Squirrel’s realization that it’s sometimes okay to “jump into the unknown.”

JD