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Squish #1
Squish #1: Super Amoeba
Introducing SQUISH—a new graphic novel series about a comic book-loving, twinkie-eating grade school AMOEBA trying to find his place in the world (or at least trying to make it through a school day). Inspired by his favorite comic book hero, SUPER AMOEBA!, Squish has to navigate school (bullies! detention! Principal Planaria!), family (dad: Hates to wear a tie. Secretly listens to heavy metal in the car), and friends (Peggy-rainbows! happy all the time! and Pod . . . who's . . . well, you just have to meet him). Can Squish save the world—and his friends—from the forces of evil lurking in the hallways? Find out in Squish: Super Amoeba—saving the world, one cell at a time!
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2011
About the author
Jennifer L. Holm
104 books1,763 followersJennifer L. Holm is a USA TODAY and NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling children's author with nearly 10 million books in print. She is the recipient of three Newbery Honors for her novels OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA, PENNY FROM HEAVEN, and TURTLE IN PARADISE and a Scott O'Dell Award for her novel FULL OF BEANS.
Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on three bestselling graphic novel series -- the Eisner Award-winning Babymouse series, the SUNNY series, and the Squish series. SQUISH is now an animated tv series on YouTube!
For more information, visit her website at www.jenniferholm.com.
Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on three bestselling graphic novel series -- the Eisner Award-winning Babymouse series, the SUNNY series, and the Squish series. SQUISH is now an animated tv series on YouTube!
For more information, visit her website at www.jenniferholm.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
April 21, 2011
One Sentence Review: Alas, it doesn't quite have the oomph of the Holms' Babymouse series (and does anyone else think it odd that the girls in this book are all dingbats?).
July 11, 2018
I read this because I love the Babymouse series. It wasn't nearly as good. The characters are unlikeable.
May 19, 2011
I picked this new graphic novel up at the bookstore because I knew immediately--in capital letters KNEW--that the kids at my school would love to get their grubby little hands on it. They adore Babymouse (yes, even the boys) and they will LOVE this new series.
Squish is an amoeba. His best friend Pod is an amoeba. Their friend Peggy is a planaria. So this is what we're working with here. Microbiological humor. Squish is your basic Charlie Brown of amoebae--a lovable guy who often finds himself in trouble. Pod is your Wimpy Kid of amoebas--selfish and self-serving, and Squish is fully aware of this, but lets himself be suckered every time. (He kinda drove me nuts. I am not a Pod Fan.) Peggy is cute and oblivious and Rainbows and Unicorns and HappyHappyHappyAlltheTime. They work well together.
Side bonus: Your kids will actually learn scientific facts about amoebae and planaria and other things microtiny. They won't notice they're learning it because they'll be too busy reading, but then at the dinner table they'll announce things like, "Hey! Did you know that an amoeba's feet are called pseudopods? And that an amoeba eats by, like, covering its food with its pseudopods and oozing all over it until it becomes a part of itself?! And Hey! Did you know if you chop of a planaria's head it will grow back another head? And if you slice one into two pieces down the middle it will grow into two separate planaria???" And who doesn't want this kind of dinner conversation? So buy this book for your kids. Trust me. Just buy it.
Squish is an amoeba. His best friend Pod is an amoeba. Their friend Peggy is a planaria. So this is what we're working with here. Microbiological humor. Squish is your basic Charlie Brown of amoebae--a lovable guy who often finds himself in trouble. Pod is your Wimpy Kid of amoebas--selfish and self-serving, and Squish is fully aware of this, but lets himself be suckered every time. (He kinda drove me nuts. I am not a Pod Fan.) Peggy is cute and oblivious and Rainbows and Unicorns and HappyHappyHappyAlltheTime. They work well together.
Side bonus: Your kids will actually learn scientific facts about amoebae and planaria and other things microtiny. They won't notice they're learning it because they'll be too busy reading, but then at the dinner table they'll announce things like, "Hey! Did you know that an amoeba's feet are called pseudopods? And that an amoeba eats by, like, covering its food with its pseudopods and oozing all over it until it becomes a part of itself?! And Hey! Did you know if you chop of a planaria's head it will grow back another head? And if you slice one into two pieces down the middle it will grow into two separate planaria???" And who doesn't want this kind of dinner conversation? So buy this book for your kids. Trust me. Just buy it.
December 5, 2017
In"Super Amoeba" by Jennifer L. Holm, it talks about a normal day of squish. In the beginning of story, Squish meet his two friends Piggy and Pod by the way to school. But inside the school, there's a bad guy who wants to eat Piggy, but Squish know this, so he decided to safe Piggy. Finally Piggy's pet safe Piggy and Piggy got safe. The ending of story is very happy.
June 2, 2011
I think I need to go wash my pseudopods.
December 18, 2019
it was good and i like that the are germs
January 7, 2019
It was a pretty good book! But this one kept on pointing out things that was quite obvious! It’s also depressing that each bad guy in the book dies at the end! For example, Lynwood. In the first book he bullied Squish and tryed to eat Peggy. At the end of the book he got eaten alive by Peggy’s Pet named Fluffy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2013
Okay. Some science details that will be a little advanced for the age group. I didn't really like the way they dealt with the bully though. Squish acted like he was going to stand up to the bully and then he didn't and the only way it was resolved was that a pet ate the bully.
March 22, 2016
This was a medium quality book.My gut said just keep reading, so I did. I think I will read the rest of the series when I have a chance.
July 7, 2021
Not very clever and with wholly unlikable characters, this graphic novel is a miss.
November 5, 2017
This was a cute graphic scientific novel on the life of a squishy amoeba. I thought the science experiment at the end was gross but funny. Also, the comic within a comic of "Super Amoeba" was a nice touch. And gotta love Fluffy. ;)
July 13, 2019
Follow the adventures of Squish an ordinary amoeba who dreams of being a superhero. But first he has to outsmart Lynwood the bully, pass his science test, and complete detention all before he can save his clueless, but adorable friend Peggy from her pending doom.
December 8, 2018
I read this to check it out before buying it for a grandkid. It's cute, good story, easy to follow, no toilet humor. Hopefully the 6 year old will like it too.
December 22, 2017
This book is called “Squish”by Jennifer L.Holm.It is about squish with his best friend Pod and Peggy (they are not humans).Squish is a amoeba, he likes comic books and he is smart in science;Pod is also a amoeba,he is Interest in stopping global warming;Peggy is a paramecia,a lovely “girl” and she always happy all the time.One day after school,they need be detention because they were late for class in the morning.When they are in the detention’s room,they meet a bad guy he is called “Lynwood”,he is a amoeba. Peggy talk to him, she want he would go to her house to see her slime mold,he ask “why would I want to see your dumb slime mold?”,and she answer “because he’s super cute!”and then she speak a lot to him.Lynwood think she is super silly and annoying.And he starts to eat Peggy.Squish see that happening,and he go to stop him.He talks to Lynwood, “Can you stop eating her?” “Or do you want to eat my sandwich if you feel hungry?” Lynwood said he doesn’t want squish’s sandwich,he wants squish going to let him copy for the science test if Squish wants he doesn’t eat Peggy.
A few day later,they have a science test.During the test,Lynwood copy Squish’s answer.When they get the same score,the teacher talk to Squish, he find they got the same exact question wrong, and he said he will be watching they both.After school,Peggy let Lynwood go to her house to see her lovely slime mold with squish.When he meet Peggy,he start to eat Peggy again because squish said he cannot copy his answer for the next test.But Peggy doesn’t care, she still be happy and excited to talk about her lovely slime mold.Squish see that happening,he relly wants to stop him,but he doesn’t have courage.Suddenly,they see her slime mold,that slime mold is such bigger than they selves Lynmood quickly stop eating her.But in the end, the slime mold eat Lynwood because he see Lynwood was eating his master.Or maybe he just feel hungry at that moment?
A few day later,they have a science test.During the test,Lynwood copy Squish’s answer.When they get the same score,the teacher talk to Squish, he find they got the same exact question wrong, and he said he will be watching they both.After school,Peggy let Lynwood go to her house to see her lovely slime mold with squish.When he meet Peggy,he start to eat Peggy again because squish said he cannot copy his answer for the next test.But Peggy doesn’t care, she still be happy and excited to talk about her lovely slime mold.Squish see that happening,he relly wants to stop him,but he doesn’t have courage.Suddenly,they see her slime mold,that slime mold is such bigger than they selves Lynmood quickly stop eating her.But in the end, the slime mold eat Lynwood because he see Lynwood was eating his master.Or maybe he just feel hungry at that moment?
December 5, 2018
I do not even know what i just read. I did not follow one bit.
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April 18, 2014Primary book #2 Squish Super Amoeba
1. This graphic novel enhances my collection by showing students ways to stand up for themselves and for others when something is not right. The story is about an Amoeba named “Squish” and his two friends at school, one of who is being bullied. Squish is an avid reader of a comic book about an amoeba superhero, whom he looks up to and wants to be like. When he notices that his friend is being bullied, he tries to stand up for her, but just freezes up since the bully is very big. So then Squish asks his dad for advice, who is not very helpful but in the end gives him advice he learned through the bad experience. Students can realize that bullies are just other people who are afraid of other things and try to pretend they are not by being mean to other students. Since we are having a little bit of a bully problem this would be a great tie in with a mini lesson about treating each other with respect and standing up for what is right or reporting something that is not right.
2. A possible audience could be anything from second grade on up. An application is a mini lesson on bullying and how to prevent it or solve bullying problems. Since bullying can be found in any grade, this fits a lot of classes. Also, it introduces scientific terms, so students can begin to realize what they are studying in science is in this comic book about germs.
3. (2011, July 01) School Library Journal. http://www.booksinprint.com/DetailedV...#
1. This graphic novel enhances my collection by showing students ways to stand up for themselves and for others when something is not right. The story is about an Amoeba named “Squish” and his two friends at school, one of who is being bullied. Squish is an avid reader of a comic book about an amoeba superhero, whom he looks up to and wants to be like. When he notices that his friend is being bullied, he tries to stand up for her, but just freezes up since the bully is very big. So then Squish asks his dad for advice, who is not very helpful but in the end gives him advice he learned through the bad experience. Students can realize that bullies are just other people who are afraid of other things and try to pretend they are not by being mean to other students. Since we are having a little bit of a bully problem this would be a great tie in with a mini lesson about treating each other with respect and standing up for what is right or reporting something that is not right.
2. A possible audience could be anything from second grade on up. An application is a mini lesson on bullying and how to prevent it or solve bullying problems. Since bullying can be found in any grade, this fits a lot of classes. Also, it introduces scientific terms, so students can begin to realize what they are studying in science is in this comic book about germs.
3. (2011, July 01) School Library Journal. http://www.booksinprint.com/DetailedV...#
August 2, 2012
Squish is an amoeba who does well at school, when he manages to get his head out of his Super Amoeba comic book. Pod, his best friend, is another amoeba who wants to solve global warming, once he gets rid od the tuna sandwich that nobody wants. Peggy is a sweet and clueless paramecium, who wants nothing more than to show her friends her cute pet slime mold. Lynwood is the school bully, who just wants to eat Peggy. Thinking about what Super Amoeba would do, and conversations with his dad, are how Squish develops his conscience and the courage to help Penny. The last few pages show how to draw Squish, and how to grow slime mold. Ewww!
With doses of both grossness and cuteness, this will make children in 2nd grade and up laugh and squirm out loud. The story line is easy to follow, with good visual cues. New characters are highlighted with big stenciled letters of their names, and short phrases inside arrows that point out with some humor what readers need to know about them. The lime green and black blobby sketches of the main story are interrupted by gray and white drawings in a different scale for the Super Amoeba comic books. There's enough scientific content here to make children proud of knowing as much as they do, but not enough to overwhelm the overall kid-friendliness. This is a bit more than one step up from Toon Books and easy readers, and could appeal to a broader audience than Captain Underpants.
With doses of both grossness and cuteness, this will make children in 2nd grade and up laugh and squirm out loud. The story line is easy to follow, with good visual cues. New characters are highlighted with big stenciled letters of their names, and short phrases inside arrows that point out with some humor what readers need to know about them. The lime green and black blobby sketches of the main story are interrupted by gray and white drawings in a different scale for the Super Amoeba comic books. There's enough scientific content here to make children proud of knowing as much as they do, but not enough to overwhelm the overall kid-friendliness. This is a bit more than one step up from Toon Books and easy readers, and could appeal to a broader audience than Captain Underpants.
September 1, 2011
This will certainly appeal to any fans of the Babymouse books, and any kids who would have love to have read Babymouse, if only her books weren't pink! Love the idea of our green sporting hero, but given the target age and the (typial) reading ability of the kids who are going to be drawn to this one, I do think that too much of the vocabulary is pretty difficult. "Amoeba" is in the title, but that one I don't think is too hard; "Microscopic" is mentioned early on, but again that one isn't too hard to sound out; then we get into words like "Mitosis", "Paramecium", and "Pseudopods"... I will bet just about anything that even some of the adults that are going to sit down and read this with their kid(s) won't know what those mean.
We also have, since our characters are basicly microscopic cells, bullies eating the kids they bully. I personally don't really have a problem with this given the setting, but some parents will be turned off by this (and possibly some kids) while some will relish it (especially the kids!).
We also have, since our characters are basicly microscopic cells, bullies eating the kids they bully. I personally don't really have a problem with this given the setting, but some parents will be turned off by this (and possibly some kids) while some will relish it (especially the kids!).
May 5, 2013
This is the first book in the Squish series by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. Our youngest ripped through the Babymouse series in no time and while we're waiting for the next book in that series, she decided she wanted to try out this one.
I may just be a boring old middle-aged lady, but I think that the story in this book isn't nearly as compelling or charming as the Babymouse stories. In fact, the characters are pretty irritating and flat. But our youngest really liked them, and she's eager to read more of the books in this series and so I'm sure I'll give the series another shot.
The illustrations are good and since it's a graphic novel, they tell most of the story along with the dialogue. But once again, they just don't have the charm of the girl in pink. I guess the one thing that it's got going for it is likely to appeal more to boys.
I may just be a boring old middle-aged lady, but I think that the story in this book isn't nearly as compelling or charming as the Babymouse stories. In fact, the characters are pretty irritating and flat. But our youngest really liked them, and she's eager to read more of the books in this series and so I'm sure I'll give the series another shot.
The illustrations are good and since it's a graphic novel, they tell most of the story along with the dialogue. But once again, they just don't have the charm of the girl in pink. I guess the one thing that it's got going for it is likely to appeal more to boys.
July 1, 2016
This is an extremely entertaining comic book about micro-organisms. It fuses the fiction and nonfiction genres by interspersing facts about amoebas, paramecia, and more, into the silly adventures of a geeky amoeba and his friends, as they try to defeat the bullies in their school. As a result, this book could be used in classrooms to expose students only interested in fiction texts or comic books to science and informational texts.
This book could also be used in a lesson on how to use reference books, such as children's encyclopedias or Wikipedia, when encountering a new word you want to learn more about. There are several organisms mentioned in passing that would be great for this type of task, such as planaria, algae, and e coli.
Other uses of this book could be in lessons on character analysis, since there are many descriptions in the text of the distinct traits of Squish and his friends. Because of the twist at the end, this book could also generate interesting class discussions about the assumptions we make while reading a book about the characters we haven't met yet, which could be extended to a discussion about judging people in real life before getting to know them.
This book could also be used in a lesson on how to use reference books, such as children's encyclopedias or Wikipedia, when encountering a new word you want to learn more about. There are several organisms mentioned in passing that would be great for this type of task, such as planaria, algae, and e coli.
Other uses of this book could be in lessons on character analysis, since there are many descriptions in the text of the distinct traits of Squish and his friends. Because of the twist at the end, this book could also generate interesting class discussions about the assumptions we make while reading a book about the characters we haven't met yet, which could be extended to a discussion about judging people in real life before getting to know them.
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March 7, 2013"Squish: Super Amoeba" is uniquely written and illustrated by, Jennifer L. Holm (Author, Illustrator), and Matt Holm (Author, Illustrator). Squish is a brand new graphic series about this squish named Amoeba. Amoeba is just trying to find his place in this big world or just at least make it through one school day one at a time. In this book of the series, amoeba becomes super amoeba! He tries to eliminate all the bad things that happen in his school. For example, like the bullies, detention and principal Planaria. The illustrations are much different from other comic books and I think children will enjoy this book because it is a book that students can relate to. Many students struggle with bullying, wish there was no detention, and don’t like the principal. I think this graphic novel approaches these issues students might have in a humorous was that will be enjoyable for kids. I would read this book to a group of 4 graders or even allow this as a free-choice book for students to read independently.
May 1, 2011
From the ever clever duo that brought you Babymouse comes a whole new graphic novel hero: an amoeba. Squish is just your normal guy, trying to make it through a school day without being eaten by the resident bully. When one of his best friends is threatened in the process, however, Squish has to figure out if he's brave enough to stand up for what's right. Love the art and the storytelling, though I did find myself wishing that the sole female character wasn't an utter dingbat. If Babymouse can have strong male characters like Wilson in her stories then why does the only girl in Squish have to be so oblivious? My only quibble, though. Otherwise it's great. - B
It's hard to disagree here. A nice start to a series that kids will certainly get into. -T
It's hard to disagree here. A nice start to a series that kids will certainly get into. -T
Read
May 27, 2016this book was about an amoeba named squish and his friends his friend penny got a pet that is big and ugly and she wants to invite squish over to see it but then the other friend said he forgot to wash his hands and they were late to school they got detention with some bullies ad since penny is so nice she invited a bully to go see her pet and squish knew that the bully was just gonna go to eat her and they get to the house and squish is really nervous and then the pet eats the bully and squish and there friends just kept living their normal lives.
May 14, 2014
I thought I would like this. But. I really didn't. I don't know. It seems... Too excited and shouty. I just didn't find it very original, I guess. It just feels like another nerdy kid with genius friend plus other friend who is a girl dealing with a bully.
Maybe I'm being harsh cause it's late at night.
I'll have to think more about it.
Maybe I'm being harsh cause it's late at night.
I'll have to think more about it.
March 22, 2018
This book is about the world of amoebas which is a type of cell. In the story there is 3 main characters and one bully. The bully wants to eat one of the main characters. So squish has to find a way to stop him. In the end the character saves themself. The art is good but I felt that the story had something missing and could have been better if somethings where changed.
July 28, 2015
Being a huge fan of the Babymouse series and the Holm duo, it was inevitable that I read this. A nice start to a series about an amoeba who loves comic books. I enjoy the science references and can't wait to read the other books!
April 16, 2011
A great new series from the creators of Babymouse--this time starring an amoeba and his single-celled friends. Full of science facts.
June 6, 2011
Perfect mix of germs, a use of the word "butt" and superheroes ;). Finn and I are both looking forward to the next one!
March 11, 2013
strange. that. all. the. living. things. are. germs.
January 24, 2019
Pew pew theeeeeeeereeee ois sickence ate dee ernd LOL
Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews