Trouble

by Katherine Battersby

A children's parable about prejudice, starring a trio of squirrel, mouse, and bear!

When a very large bear moves in next door, Squirrel is sure he can only be trouble for her and her beloved pet mouse, Chamomile. He has terrible teeth, and knife like claws, and huge, horrifying hungers . . . at least that's how Squirrel sees him. But where Squirrel sees trouble, Chamomile sees a new neighbor just trying to be friendly. Who is right.....and who is really causing trouble?

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Friendship, Humor, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2021

About the author

Katherine is the critically acclaimed author and illustrator of twelve children’s books, including Trouble, Perfect Pigeons and the popular Cranky Chicken series, which have been published around the world. Her books have received glowing reviews in The New York Times, starred Kirkus reviews and have been shortlisted for numerous awards. She is regularly booked to speak in schools, libraries and at festivals and she is a passionate advocate for literacy and the arts. She grew up in Australia and lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her poet, their book obsessed toddler and a wonderfully ridiculous dog.

Visit her at: www.katherinebattersby.com

Reviews

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute picture book shows what too often happens in our human world when we have preconceived notions of one another. A large bear moves next door and Squirrel is certain he is TROUBLE with a capital 'T.' That is... until Squirrel meets Bear face-to-face and learns how very wrong it was to make judgments. The illustrations for this book were rendered in pencil, photography, and digital media.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been called TROUBLE plenty of times so I could relate to this book!

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent depiction of bias. I found the illustrations confusing at times.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book has something to teach many readers who jump to conclusions about others, especially someone new to a place, based on what they think they know about them or their assumptions. When Bear moves into the neighborhood, Squirrel immediately pegs him as being trouble even though she knows nothing about his origin. She hasn't even had a conversation with him. When Squirrel's pet mouse Chamomile disappears, Squirrel is certain that something terrible has happened, and she races over to Bear's place in full attack mode. As it turns out, Squirrel couldn't be more wrong about Bear. The illustrations, created with pencil, collage, photography, and digital media, show the real story of Bear's personality and gentle ways. My favorite page shows Squirrel's reaction to all the strange sounds coming from Bear's apartment alongside images showing what's really happening in that place, and the two vary wildly. This book offers a great place to begin important discussions about differences, assumptions, and how prejudices get started and can be addressed while also making a strong point about not judging others who are different from us by what we think we already know. If we approach them with open hearts and open minds, we just might form a fast friendship similar to Bear's and Squirrel's.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Squirrel has a new neighbor. That new neighbor is a bear and that means Trouble as squirrel knows about bears from TV and books. Bear also wears strange clothes (beekeeping suits) and does strange things. There are chance encounters around town that do not make Squirrel feel any better. At the moment when Squirrel thinks Bear has crossed a line and decides to confront Bear, Squirrel realizes assumptions and ideas may have been untrue. The illustrations of the animals and their emotions are charming and wonderful to boot!

This adorable story is a very important way to approach stereotyping and bigotry through this adorable picture book about animals that make assumptions before getting to know each other. Wow! Katherine Battersby has pitched a no hitter here! I cannot find fault with this adorable story and instead will be sharing it with folks for a long time to come!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bear moves next door to a squirrel and their pet mouse, Chamomile. Squirrel immediately thinks Bear is trouble because of all the things they have heard and read about bears. Squirrel is mean to Bear and thinks the absolute worst of them. When Squirrel hears Chamomile over at Bear's house, Squirrel thought Bear was going to do terrible things to Chamomile and had to rush in to save them! When Squirrel burst into Bear's house, Squirrel realized that Squirrel was Trouble, not Bear. Bear was knitting while Chamomile was playing with the yarn. Squirrel wanted to apologize, but didn't know how. Instead, Squirrel offered Bear tea. Bear brought cookies and they became good friends.

Good for preschool or older kid storytimes.

[Nancy Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brilliantly invites readers of all ages and stripes to check their own prejudices. When a bear moves in next door, Squirrel "knew just by looking at him...He was TROUBLE." With perfect interplay between illustration and text, Squirrel catalogs a bear's terrifying features. After "huge, horrifying hungers", the adorable art shows Bear baking cookies. Only Squirrel's pet mouse Chamomile is open to Bear's neighborly advances. When Chamomile disappears, Squirrel bursts into Bear's cozy quarters armed with a teapot. "And that's when I realized...he wasn't Trouble. I was." Battersby has created a thoughtful conversation-starter that is also pure fun.

[Aolund · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid book about prejudice/bias and the dangers of judging people based upon your preconceived notions about them. Squirrel judges their new neighbor, a bear, based on scary things they've seen about bears before—getting completely carried away until they finally realize that *they're* the one who is making everything troublesome. The minimal text requires a fair amount of reading the pictures along with the words for everything to make sense, so better for a smaller group.

Themes: Prejudice, Bias, Don't Judge a Book by its Cover
Age range: Preschool and Kindergarten

[Abby Johnson]

When a giant bear moves in next door, Squirrel's first and prevailing thought is that the bear must be Trouble. She makes all kinds of assumptions about her new neighbor and escalates all kind of negative and prejudicial thoughts inside her head.... until they actually meet and she realizes that Bear is actually very sweet and they might become friends. This is a serviceable introduction to prejudice and why we should not judge others based on their looks or superficial details. Useful as a conversation starter.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a big bear moves in next door to Squirrel she just knows he's going to be Trouble. But is he?

Squirrel thinks she has evidence of the neighbor being trouble, but she's really misread circumstances. It is a good lesson on jumping to conclusions and failing to listen or give someone time to explain themselves. And the illustrations are adorably cute. The pet mouse that meows is confusing. Overall, a sweet story with a good lesson. I've seen very similar stories several times now, but we can never have enough of this kind of story. It's one we need many times over.

[Alissa Tsaparikos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well done story that shows children how prejudice and assumptions go hand in hand. Squirrel expects the worst and sees exactly what she expects. The reader will notice that things are not how she sees them, the illustrations cleverly showing the truth even as squirrel sees and imagines the worst. Although there aren't any consequences for the way squirrel is acting, she does reach self awareness, which is worth a lot. A worthy read that would be great for classroom discussions.

[Ericka B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great way to address prejudice, stereotypes and bias with kids. The illustrations were a bit all over the place and confused the story at times. I hope readers will take time to discuss the apology, or lack there of, because while it's sometimes hard to say sorry for our biases, recognizing an apology is deserved (and actually giving it and saying you will do better) is a huge step towards growth.

[Sharon Coffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is a squirrel (and Chamomile, Squirrel's pet mouse) to do when Trouble (a bear) moves in next door? Squirrel's antics to keep himself and Chamomile safe brings out Squirrel's wild side. When Chamomile goes missing Squirrel knows in his heart that Chamomile has met a cataclysmic unexpected end at the claws and jaws of Bear. Sink your teeth into this book to discover what REALLY happened to Chamomile.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

So wonderfully good! All about the assumptions we make that make our lives smaller--and how we can flip them around to make our lives more full of tea and good friends and general loveliness. Katherine Battersby is my new favorite author-illustrator--her drawings of animals are the most appealing ever.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a tea pot/cup collector, I was instantly drawn to this story before it even started with the end papers full of teapots!!! This is a great story to use as a conversation starter with children about prejudice and judging others based on faulty assumptions. It does a great job illustrating this concept in a way children can understand and relate to. I'd love to do a story time with the book!

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8yo and I loved this book and read it several times during our loan from the library. This is a great story about bias and judging someone by appearance. The illustrations tell so much of this story, and kids will love the details - especially little Chamomile. This is an adorable book that makes an important message easy to understand for small kids.
8yo’s favorite detail: Bear’s tiny hat!

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making assumptions can get you in trouble. Readers see this when Squirrel decides her new neighbor Bear is scary and will cause trouble. Readers see the side by side view of what is happening in both locations and discover who the real character causing the trouble is. Battersby shows readers the resolution by the end of the story.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katherine Battersby has aimed to write a picture-book powerful story about prejudice.

Just dramatic enough, this story. Perfectly rendered illustrations, too. (Also by the author.)

Katherine Battersby has aimed to write a picture-book powerful story about prejudice, and she has succeeded magnificently. Now let the conversations begin.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, though the mouse that was a cat was a bit odd... But I really like the message. The squirrel totally misjudged the bear based solely on his appearance. Something almost everyone can work on. :-)

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very "Zootopia" kind of message here about checking your assumptions. The art is cute and combines cartoon characters with fabric textures and realistic looking teapots. I was a bit confused over how the pet mouse functions as a cat and meows, but it was sweet.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has adorable illustrations and is a great topic for all regarding preconceived notions/prejudices. It is a conversation starter with young ones. If I was still reading aloud to elementary students, I would share this with them.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is gorgeous! Not only are the illustrations super cute but real pictures of teapots and vases are incorporated into the drawings and ot looks amazing. An excellent story about preconceived notions of certain bears... er... people.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous text and laugh-out-loud illustrations combine in a story about a mouse who is fearful of her new neighbor. It's a story about prejudice and misconceptions packaged perfectly for young readers.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story about not judging a book by its cover in the form of a squirrel immediately judging her neighbor bear to be trouble. I liked the art style and the use of real tea pots and cookie jars to add to the illustrations. Was the cat a mouse though? Haha that was a little weird.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable book about being afraid to be friends and then giving it a chance. Two of my favorite animals - squirrels and bears - that live in our neighborhood. I really enjoyed it and the lovely drawings.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A squirrel and a mouse get a new neighbor – a bear. The illustrations that show the bear doing the opposite of what the squirrel is saying are hilarious. A sweet story about how sometimes our perceptions might be wrong.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bear named Trouble moves in next door to Squirrel and Camomile, and of course Squirrel expects the worst. Cute illustrations.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

On prejudice, confirmation bias, and friends helping us see past them

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great jumping off point for how we make assumptions about others. Fun illustrations help soften what can be an intense topic.