Book Review: Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Mélanie Watt, in Scaredy Squirrel Series Title 6

Television draws armchair campers with such programming as: 

• The Joy of Camping, at 6:00 p.m.; 
• The BBQ Challenge, at 9:00 p.m.; and 
• When Moose Attack, at 10:00 p.m. 

Scaredy envisions leaving a walkie-talkie -- if reinforcements are required, emergencies arise or contact is needed -- at the foot of his oak tree (Quercus spp) before he round-trips the campground's amenities between 5:31 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. He finishes 143 sets of back-bends, side-thrusts, stretches, and toe-touches -- and runs an obstacle course looping around mosquito and penguin representations, safety cones, and teddy bear decoys -- before donning: 

• camouflage jacket with name badge; 
• netted hat with good luck penny; 
• nose plugs; 
• rubber boots; 
• scout's neckerchief; and 
• water wings. 

Scaredy gathers together: 

• cement against quicksand; 
• dictionary as a step-up if the outlet is high; 
• instant oatmeal for The Three Bears; 
• pliers for zippers; 
• popsicles for penguins; and 
• tomato juice against skunks. 

He nevertheless has the outdoor rule of hiding and playing dead if plans fall apart. That is exactly what happens when Scaredy ambles onto the campground's mini-golf course.

Scaredy judges playing dead for two hours to be the best reaction. Upon reviving and witnessing the beauty of the setting sun from one of the lake's boats, Scaredy knows that camping, fresh air, fireside songs, pine cone hunts, roasted marshmallows, and the wilderness must be enjoyed in real time and up close, not through digital lenses. 

Northern and southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus, G. volans) lead sylvan bio-geographies, life cycles, and natural histories whose urban and wilderness interfaces respectively expand and shrink throughout North America. They make their presence more or less known to researchers and visitors by: 

• glides of 72.18 feet (22 meters) every 12 seconds realizing trajectories three times every vertical foot (0.32 meter) of launch height; 
• high-pitched chips and squeaks; and 
• 25- to 30-member socialized, thermo-regulating communities. 

Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping provides -- for pre-kindergarteners to third-graders aged 4 to 8 years -- culturally enriching, educationally entertaining adventures with: 

• Kids Can Press; 
• Karen Powers, designer;
• Tara Walker, editor; and 
• Mélanie Watt, Potato Cut-set text's acrylic and charcoal-penciled artwork designer/jacket illustrator/writer. 

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

Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus), a subspecies of Northern Flying Squirrel native to Virginia and West Virginia
Glaucomys sabrinus fucsus is also known as the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel.
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Tucker County, northeastern West Virginia: Larry Master/USFWS, Public Domain, via USFWS National Digital Library @ https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/30090/

Camping for squirrels? A nest box serves as a safe refuge for Virginia Northern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus).
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Tucker County, northeastern West Virginia: Rachel Molenda/USFWS, Public Domain, via USFWS National Digital Library @ https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/13465

Northern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) feel safe in trees, especially oak (Quercus spp), as they pursue their nocturnal life style.
Northern Ontario, just above Lake Superior, east central Canada: PJTurgeon, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Flying_Squirrel.JPG

measuring foot of a Carolina Northern Flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus)
Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels are a subspecies of Northern Flying Squirrels found only in the Southern Appalachians where northern hardwood forests give way to spruce-fir forests.
Asheville, Buncombe County, western North Carolina: G. Peeples/USFWS www.fws.gov/asheville, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Measuring_a_Carolina_northern_flying_squirrel_foot_(7651417208).jpg

The miracle of flight: Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) decamps for another location.
Northern Flying squirrel glides, with characteristic square shape of stretched patagia (gliding-enabling membrane).: A. Freeman (Angie spuc at English Wikipedia), CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flying_squirrel_in_a_tree.jpg

Watt, Mélanie. 2013. Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping. Scaredy Squirrel Series Title #6. Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Tonawanda, NY, USA: Kids Can Press.