Book Review: Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach by Mélanie Watt, in Scaredy Squirrel Series Title 3

Collective nouns describe the standard term by which objects and organisms are grouped and measured together. Scaredy excels at lists of such collective nouns that identify his aversion to beaches as: 

• flocks of seagulls; 
• herds of sea monsters; 
• mobs of lobsters; 
• packs of pirates; 
• tons of falling coconuts; and 
• tribes of jellyfish. 

He in fact finds it possible to build his own pleasant, private, safe beach outside his oak tree (Quercus spp) with: 

• crayons to draw blue skies, palm tree, and sun on poster-sized paper to be propped up by a fallen stick; 
• feline litter for sand; 
• flashlight for sunshine since North America's flying squirrels are night-active; 
• inflatable pool with anti-germs sign; and 
• plastic flamingo for wildlife. 

A red-headed woodpecker's "Tock! Tock! Tock!" gets Scaredy thinking about a germ-free, shiny-sided, unoccupied seashell's clear, comforting, real-time ocean sounds. He has everything ready for his Operation Seashell Mission: 

• beachwear (boots against jellyfish, camera against sea monsters, compass, eye patch for pirates, french fry for seagulls, headgear against coconuts, life jacket, oven mitts against germs, rubber band against lobsters); 
• map; 
• passport for Scaredy Orville Squirrel; and 
• schedule from 7:30 a.m. mail truck pick-up to 6:00 p.m. return. 

But the beach is not deserted between 11:40 a.m. and 11.49 p.m. Scaredy jumps out of the box cautioning a live animal with nut allergy-provoking traces to play dead for two hours but neglects to release the S.O.S. message-stuffed bottle. 

Building sand castles, floating in shallow water, sunbathing, and taking pictures keep Scaredy busy, happy, and on schedule. Abilities to face facts and modify behaviors lead Scaredy to copy friendly beach-goers by adding 25 garden gnomes to his private beach. But he must return his perfect but occupied seashell.

North American flying squirrels nudge coastal habitats along eastern and western shorelines. They operate within coniferous and mixed-forest niches. So Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach presupposes beach appeal for Glaucomys sabrinus' and Glaucomys volans' sylvan bio-geographies, life cycles, and natural histories through: 

• Kids Can Press; 
• Karen Powers, designer; 
• Tara Walker, editor; and 
• Mélanie Watt, author/designer of the Potato Cut-set text's acrylic and charcoal pencil artwork and jacket illustration. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Scaredy Squirrel thinks that plastic flamingos, known popularly as lawn flamingos, substitute well for wildlife.: El Sobrante, Contra Costa County, East Bay Region, California: Argyriou, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lawn-flamingo.jpg

A red-headed woodpecker changes Scaredy Squirrel's outlook on Operation Seashell Mission.
Glenhurst Meadows, Warren Township, northeastern Somerset County, north central New Jersey: Mike & Chris, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melanerpes_erythrocephalus_2.jpg

Scaredy Squirrel discovers fun beach activities, such as making sand castles.
sandcastles created on South Padre Island, Texas by Andy Hancock of sandcastlelessons.com: Sandcastlelessons, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castleboomy08.jpg

New World flying squirrels include coastal locations, such as Cape Cod in Massachusetts, among their habitats.
Cape Code National Seashore in Truro, Massachusetts: Donna Benevides, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ccnatsea.jpg

Scaredy Squirrel is a New World flying squirrel, of which only two species exist.
Severn River Flying Squirrel (Pteromys sabrinus), synonym of Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus); drawn from nature by J.W. (John Woodhouse) Audubon (November 30, 1812-February 21, 1862)
J.J. Audubon, The Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. III (1851), Plate CXLIII, opposite page 204: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLib), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/61021753@N02/7752425262/

Audubon, John James. 1851. The Quadrupeds of North America. Vol. III. New York: V.G. Audubon.

• Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library at: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34896937 

Watt, Mélanie. 2008. Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach. Scaredy Squirrel Series Title #3. Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Tonawanda, NY, USA: Kids Can Press.