Evil Weasel

by Hannah Shaw

Weasel is evil. His mean schemes and cunning tricks have made him richer than you can possibly imagine. But they have also upset his friends. So when Weasel throws a big party to show off his amazing castle, fast car and money-filled swimming pool, none of his guests turn up!





Weasel is horrified to discover that he's bad at being a friend and sets out to put things right. But can he convince his friends that he's truly sorry? And will he really learn the error of his ways and stop being evil altogether?

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Hannah Shaw was born into a large family of sprout munching vegetarians.

As is the oldest child, she spent her formative years trying to be good at everything; from roller-skating to gymnastics. Hannah soon realised there wasn’t much chance of her becoming a gold medal winning gymnast, so she resigned herself to drawing pictures and writing stories!

By some mean feat Hannah found herself at the University of Brighton doing a degree in illustration. Soon an overwhelming obsession to make books took over her life. Inspired by her love of furry animals, Hannah wrote and illustrated her first picture book Evil Weasel, published by Jonathan Cape (Random House) in 2008. Her next book Erroll, about a boy who finds a squirrel in his packet of nuts, is out in 2009.

Hannah currently lives in a little cottage in the Cotswolds, with her husband Ben the blacksmith and her rescue dog Ren. Her over-active imagination fuels new ideas but unfortunately keeps her awake at night!

Reviews

[Amy Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really enjoyable, funny story that teaches a good lesson of how having lots of money doesn't necessarily make you happy. It also explores the theme of friendship and that we have to be nice to people in order to have friends, this would be great to discuss in the younger years. This book also has great illustrations that add to the story and also includes different text types in the story.

[Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Weasel is evil. His mean schemes and cunning tricks have made him richer than you can possibly imagine."

Apart from being incredibly speciesist towards carnivores, it bears poorly hidden anti-intellectualism and naked upward classism (i.e. "rich people bad"). It plays on banal and deeply engrained feelings gulped up by suicidally emphatic minds without regurgitation to produce a melancholic tear-jerker with no entertainment value, no ambition or inspiring ideas for the new readers to engage the real world.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cool picture book. From the moment you open it, there are a kazillion little details waiting to be discovered; from the endpapers to the illustrations proper. The story is about a character all kids will relate to - everyone knows someone who is difficult to get along with (or is such a person themselves). On a deeper level, the idea of the "evils" and shallowness of the consumer lifestyle may help to open the eyes of some older kids, which is never a bad thing. Despite the serious ideas dealt with in this book, the story is deftly written, with a joie de vivre that makes it both fun and funny. Just looking at Evil Weasel on the cover can't help but bring a smile to your face. I can't believe this is a debut picture book. It is great!

[Chris Morley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable. It has good humour and teaches a good lesson on how having lots of money doesn't necessarily make you happy. Instead, you have to be a nice person to gain friends. The illustrations are good and add to the story. However, the premise was lacking originality and therefore the message was not that poignant, as a result.

[James Koppert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like books for kids that have a message or moral underneath them and Evil Weasel is one of those. From reading this book I was able to demonstrate to my children the ethos of don't be a dick or people will think you are a complete dick and won't want to be your friend. Perfect.