Nuts About Scaredy Squirrel: Five Classic Stories

by Mélanie Watt

A collection of five hilarious stories starring Scaredy Squirrel – everyone’s favorite worrywart!

Scaredy Squirrel would rather stay safe and secure in his nut tree than risk venturing out into the great unknown. There are so many hazards out there! But every now and then, when he does take a brave step outside his comfort zone, Scaredy Squirrel discovers something new and exciting. And somehow, the thing he didn’t want to do turns out to be the best thing he’s ever done!

Now Scaredy Squirrel fans can get these five bestselling titles in one hardcover edition:

Scaredy Squirrel
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend
Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach
Scaredy Squirrel at Night
Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party

Readers of all ages love Melanie Watt’s sweetly vulnerable, lovable Scaredy Squirrel. Children relate to his numerous fears of the unfamiliar – both the real, possible threats and the outlandish ones – while being in on the joke of how his checklists, schedules and detailed plans never quite prepare Scaredy the way he thinks they will and usually weren’t needed in the first place! By working through his apprehensions, Scaredy Squirrel shows readers it’s okay to take risks and do the thing you think you can’t do. These stories are excellent for teaching character-education lessons on courage, adaptability and perseverance. This hardcover edition makes a perfect collectible or gift for Scaredy Squirrel fans of any age

182 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

It was in a design class taught by Michèle Lemieux at the University of Quebec in Montreal that author and illustrator Mélanie Watt created her first picture book, Leon the Chameleon, which was later published by Kids Can Press. Watt went on to create several more books, including the Learning with Animals collection and Augustine, which was named an ALA Notable Children's Book. Watt has also illustrated Where Does a Tiger-Heron Spend the Night? and Bearcub and Mama, which won the 2006 IRA Teachers' Choices Project.

Mélanie's best known book Scaredy Squirrel, has won many awards including the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Children's Picture Book and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award. The release of Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, was met with enthusiastic reviews and incredible sales, confirming the arrival of kid lit's newest superstar.

Chester,Chester's Back! and Chester's Masterpiece are about a megalomaniac cat who is every bit the antithesis to Scaredy. Chester has already become a bestseller and shows the breadth and creativity of Mélanie Watt.

Scaredy returns to take a few more tentative steps out of his comfort zone in Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach and Scaredy Squirrel at Night. Mélanie has often noted how the Scaredy Squirrel books helped her work out her own insecurities and fears, as the success of these titles has required her to venture out into the unknown, and like Scaredy she has found the experience truly uplifting.

Mélanie currently resides near Montreal, Quebec.

~From http://www.kidscanpress.com/creators/...

Reviews

[Bookaholic__Reviews]

I love scaredy squirrel and I love that there is now a collection with 5 of the classic tales. Scaredy Squirrel is always a lot of fun to read and the illustrations are super cute too!! I loved revisiting these classic tales with my kids!

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Carlina Kinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to say thank you from the bottom of my children's hearts and my own to the author, the publisher, and netgalley for allowing us the privilege of being able to arc read this book. We really appreciate it!

We love 'Scaredy Squirrel' and a lot of other books by the author in our home, but 'Scaredy Squirrel' is one of my youngests favourite book series and we were all so excited when I was approved to be able to arc read this collection with my kids. We own and have read all but two of the books in this collection before, but it didn't stop the fun and excitement of getting to read them again, and the other two were well loved! The formatting of this collection of stories was perfect, and despite containing 5 bigger stories, it really won't take very long to read the whole collection with your children, it is honestly the perfect size as a collection and as a bedtime collection.

If you're children already love 'Scaredy Squirrel' they're going to absolutely love this collection of stories, it would also make a fantastic gift of bedtime stories. If you've never read them before, you and your children are going to love these stories. They're perfect good, clean, laugh out loud fun for honestly every age, and they're perfect reminders for children to not let their anxieties stop them from exploring the world and trying new things. Above all they remind kids that it's okay to feel the way they do and that there will always be something or someone to help them make it through every tough moment for them or to remind them that sometimes things aren't as big as we picture them to be in our heads.

Thank you so very much from the bottoms of our hearts for allowing us the absolute privilege of being able to arc read this collection of stories. We truly appreciate it, and we absolutely loved every minute of it! We also can't wait to bring home the two were missing!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scaredy Squirrel is first and foremost FUN!!! I love his planning and his maps and his problem solving. We can use these books with our computer programs to discuss many ways of organizing information and as a springboard to how to read a graphic novel as comic panels connect to several of these books. I also use these books for vocabulary building and showing my students how to use picture clues with unknown words or use text clues to understand. I now think I need to have some of his favorite things created by my students, so we can act out his stories!

Scaredy Squirrel is how I have introduced map reading skills in my library classes. Having these books all in one place is fabulous for me!!! (The paperbacks do not last as long as I need them to for circulation. I plan to buy the books only in library binding for circulation and keep buying paperbacks to add to our March is Reading Month book give away!)

Thankful for #Netgalley for allowing me to review this book virtually.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of Scaredy Squirrel and this omnibus is a great way to enjoy him in all his anxious glory. I think what I love most about this character is that even though he is afraid of everything and overthinks everything, in every book he is forced out of his comfort zone and comes to realize that he is still okay. In this compilation, he learns he can fly, makes a friend, goes to the beach, gets a good night sleep, and has a surprise birthday party...and actually has a lot of fun! It’s a great message for kids and families that things don’t always have to go exactly to plan to be fun. It also provides lots of opportunities to get young readers engaged with the books by asking them what would be on their lists because Scaredy has plenty and it can be used to address some of their common fears.

*ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Shel Holtmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughters absolutely loved this Scaredy Squirrel collection! They were laughing out loud through so many parts — and I loved seeing how engaged they were. Each story is funny, quirky, and still manages to carry a sweet message about bravery, adaptability, and stepping outside your comfort zone.

This collection kept them entertained the whole way through and even sparked lots of questions and conversations — which is always a win for me as a parent. A fantastic choice for storytime, and such a fun introduction to Scaredy Squirrel for kids who haven’t met him yet!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Dark Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adorable anthology! We had heard of the Scaredy Squirrel books but somehow had never read them - so this was perfect. The squirrel is so cute, and the stories are funny.

This is an anthology with several stories:
Scaredy Squirrel
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend
Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach
Scaredy Squirrel at Night
Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party

Which was perfect for us as an ebook since we can skip around easily. My 6-year-old loved the stories, and so did I - they were funny and fun to read. The illustrations were great as well.

Thanks to the ARC team for an advance copy!

[Lexi Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids are absolutely nuts about Scaredy Squirrel 🐿️, and this collection was such a hit in our house! We had the best time reading about all of Scaredy’s wild fears — and, of course, laughing together as he realizes most of them are pretty silly after all.

It’s so nice to have five of their favorite stories bundled into one book, making it easy to revisit our favorite moments over and over again. Perfect for bedtime, storytime, or anytime we need a giggle!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the eARC in exchange for our honest and unbiased review.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scaredy Squirrel’s antics are always funny, though after five books, the formula starts to feel a little repetitive. Still, the art and over-the-top plots make my son laugh every time. Beneath the silliness is a surprisingly thoughtful message about anxiety—what it feels like and how to face it with courage.

Thank you to NetGalley, Melanie Watt and Kids Can Press for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[geekoutonreading : Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids loved Scaredy Squirrel when they were younger!

This compilation of stories is fantastic!!

Younger readers will enjoy the illustrations, the humor, and the perseverance of a scared squirrel that works through his anxieties.

Adults will enjoy reading these with their children!!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.*

[Laurel Zeisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful. Funny text and illustrations. This book would make a car ride so much fun for a reader. I liked the how to draw part at the end of the book.