Who's a Scaredy Cat: A Story of the Halifax Explosion

by Joan Payzant

This is the story of two families in Dartmouth at the time of the Halifax Explosion, December 1917. Flossie Wright is a prankster, taking pleasure in practical jokes. Isobel Morton, whose father is listed as missing in the war, dislikes Flossie's jokes, and is ridiculed by the other girl. Although Isobel knows she is a not a “scaredycat” Flossie’s jibe still hurt. Isobel proves her bravery and wins Flossie's friendship in the terrible days that follow the Halifax explosion. Who's a Scaredy-Cat? deals with two serious subjects--war and a major civil disaster. Although the pain and distress of these events are portrayed realistically, the novel is really about hope, courage and the ability of people to carry on. The historical detail is woven into the story masterfully, and is brought to life in Marijke Simons' illustrations. The setting is vivid, the characters realistic and likeable. Children today will be able to relate to both the place and the people. Who's a Scaredy-Cat? is an enjoyable, historically detailed novel.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Sue Slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Fires dotted the Dartmouth shores, and heaps of rubble stood where only thirty minutes ago there had been comfortable homes.”
― Joan Payzant, Who's a Scaredy-Cat! page 33

I found Joan Payzant's “Who’s A Scaredy-Cat! A Story of the Halifax Explosion” an enjoyable, realistic, and informative story for children. I have read several stories set on the Halifax side of the harbour during and after this devastating event, it was refreshing to read one set on the Dartmouth side. Geared towards early readers, it focuses on hope and the community pulling together to help one another in the aftermath of the world’s largest man-made, non-nuclear explosion.

In the story, we follow Flossie and Isobel’s footsteps in their search for a missing loved one, from Dartmouth’s Town Hall to the new Greenvale School, to Mr. Rosenburg’s house, Edgemere and lastly, to Dr. Parker’s House, Beechwood. They even include a hand-drawn map, in the front of the book, for children to follow the girls’ paths. We also see the Halifax waterfront from the perspective of the Dartmouth side; “the sun was glowing over the jagged skyline of the broken buildings in Halifax”.

Accounts of the destruction, deaths, and injuries are present but not graphic enough to give nightmares. Descriptions of the relief efforts contributed by people and communities from outside Nova Scotia are also touched upon. The many discussion points in this story are sure to have children asking many questions in this introduction to this catastrophic event.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story two young girls and their experiences in Dartmouth (across the harbor) during the Halifax explosion.
Although the author has made an admirable attempt to tell the story of Canada’s greatest disaster for young readers, the highly censored telling comes across slightly pat, failing to convey in any sense the horror of the explosion or war itself. While appropriate for a younger audience this book fails to demonstrate the scope of the Halifax explosion or the devastating personal effect war has on families.
The fact that Isobel’s father is missing in action does not really seem to upset her or her brother. Children in this age group are able to understand how awful it would be if they didn’t know whether their father was dead or alive. The lack of personal impact on the characters in this book was not believable. The characters were poorly developed and the adults ridiculous. No responsible mother taking a potentially orphaned girl into her care would send the child alone with her own daughter, through a destroyed city to search for her missing parent while staying home to make stew. Nor would a clear thinking elderly woman fail to mention she recognized a neighbor in a comma, simply assuming someone else had identified her.
The book concludes with everything working out perfectly. Although the children’s school was destroyed while in session everyone appears to be alright. Flossie’s mother is found in a hospital with the chicken pox and a concussion in spite of the fact that the bottle factory where she worked is completely gone and there are few to no survivors. She wakes up as soon as Flossie speaks to her, recovering to arrive home on Christmas day. Grannie O’Brian moves in with Flossie and her mother since her house was demolished giving Flossie the loving attention she needs. Since the bottle factory where Flossie’s mother worked was destroyed she gets her dream job in a store close to home. Flossie adopts a lost puppy.
Isobel’s family get the glass replaced in their windows. She and her brother get a puppy for Christmas. Their Father is rescued by the Red Cross from POW camp where he’s been held prisoner when an exchange is made for a high ranking German POW. The author didn’t add “And they all lived happily ever after”, but she might as well have.
The book comes across as an over-simplistic and unemotional telling of a heart breaking and complex situation. It fails to convey the devastation or the loss of this historic event, nor does it convey the permanent and irreparable impact this moment in time had on the lives of those who experienced it.
Certainly a graphic telling would be inappropriate for the target audience, but a carefully told realistic and emotional approach would be very much in order.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of several books I took with us on our trip to Canada for our 7 & 9 year olds to read. I decided to read it as well. As hoped, it turned out to be a perfect contextual read as we were able to visit Halifax and learned quite a bit about the Halifax Explosion during a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The story is simple and straightforward and the main characters are not as tragically affected as some families were during the real events. So the story feels realistic without being an emotional burden to young readers. The author made a good effort to represent the impact of WWI on Canada and I appreciated the reference to French Canadians in the story given that we also visited Quebec during our summer trip.

[Ninglu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book. It was about the Halifax Explosion, and two girls, a nice one and a teaser, naughty one.
Until the Halifax Explosion, that is when they start to be nicer to each other, and forgive.