Lizzy and Skunk

by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Lizzy is never afraid when Skunk, her loyal puppet friend, is with her, yet the day Skunk goes missing, Lizzy must muster all her courage in order to go back over all her steps alone and find her dear friend.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2000

About the author

I am an illustrator and a writer. I create picturebooks for kids and write novels – middle grade and YA. I love to travel but, so far, my books have travelled more than me - they've been translated into many languages, including Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Persian and Finish.

I'm Irish, a Dubliner, born, bred and buttered. I run on coffee and chocolate. My most recent novel, On Midnight Beach, is a YA reimagining of the legend of Cúchulainn, and it has been shortlisted for several awards, including the 2021 Carnegie Medal.

Reviews

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl named Lizzy had a hand puppet named Skunk, because he was a skunk. Lizzy was afraid of a lot of things, but with Skunk - who was not afraid - she could be brave. One day Skunk got lost and Lizzy realized she had to be brave all by herself to find him. Sweet story and illustrations.

[Amanda Walz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book about friendship, being brave with a friend and then being brave all by yourself.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story of a girl and her hand puppet offers a lesson in bravery.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

We never know how brave we truly are until we need to help a friend.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool story.

[Cherina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: Lizzy is scared of many things, including shadows, spiders, falling down, making mistakes, and going on stage. Her puppet named Skunk always helps Lizzy to overcome her fears. One day Skunk goes missing and Lizzy must battle her fears by herself in order to find her lost puppet.

Uses: Independent reading for early readers, read-aloud for primary grades, students who must have obvious fears in school

Literary Devices: personification

Social issues: common fears that children have and overcoming your fears

Other: fiction picture book

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book to have a child read that has low self esteem. The little girl in the book has low self esteem and is scrared of everything but she has a puppet she has named Skunk. and Skunk isn't afraid of anything! So by choosing to be him she can do everything. BUT one day Skunk is missing so she must go and do all the things she is afraid of to find her friend. Finding her self esteem for her friend.

[Terry]

Our toddler pulled this one from the shelf from the library and it didn't disappoint. It is a sweet story that lays out every toddler/preschooler's fears: spiders, the dark, high places, being on stage and, most importantly, being alone. Read the review.

[Alma Loredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizzy is afraid of the things that Skunk is not afraid. Skunk always helps her face her fears. Skunk gets lost and Lizzy went off to find him in which she had to face all her fears by herself. I think this book helps students build confidence and know that if they are afraid or scared they can still confront it.

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this sweet picture book, Lizzy can face anything so long as her favorite stuffed friend Skunk is with her. But when Skunk goes missing, Lizzy must overcome her fears to find him. Good illustrations.

[RachelAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl's skunk puppet represents her courage, but when Skunk gets lost, Lizzie finds her own bravery.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story about overcoming your fears. I imagine this would be good for parents trying to get their kids to give up pacifiers, comfort blankets, etc.

[Heloyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the simple story. Loved the pictures. Delightful reminder that hard things become do-able when the motivation is right.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little story with pretty illustrations.