Book Review: Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend by Mélanie Watt, in Scaredy Squirrel Series Title 2

Isolation does not have to be depressing or unproductive since Scaredy has time to: 

• chat with hand puppets; 
• count; 
• craft paper chains; 
• knit; 
• read; 
• whistle; and 
• yawn. 

But then Scaredy's gaze encounters a bubbly, germ-free, quiet, super-clean, toothless goldfish splashing and swimming in a two-tiered, water-filled fountain. Scaredy feels prepared for 100% safe, perfect friendships with: 

• body odor-busting, pine-scented air freshener; 
• chew toys to distract biters; 
• comb; 
• lemon to fresh-squeeze a pitcherful of lemonade; 
• mirror to check bad hair and food-splattered teeth days; 
• mittens to cover nerves-induced sweating paws; 
• name tag; and 
• toothbrush. 

He goes outside determined to: 

• avoid eye contact and loud noises; 
• hide fears and fingers; and 
• risk-test passersby for dentition, hobbies, identity, and mindsets. 

But a dog's unexpected appearance has Scaredy circling the fountain and woody plants before playing dead for two hours. Scaredy then intuits the dog's friendly intentions. He joins Buddy in: 

• fetch;
• hide-and-seek;
• play dead; and 
• tag. 

He knows an 83% safe, super-fun friendship outweighs the drawbacks of: 

• drooling; 
• germs; 
• loud barking; 
• muddy paws; and 
• wet doggy smell. 

So he leaves the air freshener attached to Buddy's collar. Cautious wildlife associations and strong security concerns in fact merge Scaredy's nutty adventures into the deep truths of flying squirrel behaviors in North America. They number so high up on northern (Glaucomys sabrinus) and southern (Glaucomys volans) flying squirrel biological imperatives because of mixed forest food chains and predator/prey webs. 

North America's two native flying squirrel species in fact occupy a niche as: 

• the diminutive predator of small things (beech and hickory nuts, bird eggs, carrion, flowers, fungi, insects, lichen, mushrooms, red and white oak acorns, tree sap, and truffles); and 
• the petite prey of large foxes, hawks, lynxes, martens, owls, raccoons, and snakes. 

So Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend provides pre-kindergarteners to third-graders aged 4 to 8 years with culturally enriching, educationally entertaining adventures in bio-geographies, life cycles, and natural histories with: 

• Kids Can Press Ltd. of Toronto, Canada and Tonawanda, New York; 
• 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 illustrator.

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

Scaredy Squirrel wants to share freshly squeezed lemons for lemonade with friends.
fresh lemons (Citrus x limon): Johannes Pribyl (Jokep), CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lemons_pribyl2.jpg

Scaredy Squirrel thinks a goldfish in a two-tiered fountain is a good candidate for friendship but a surprise visit from a dog initially terrifies Scaredy.
goldfish with white-spotted gill covers: Blubbi321, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goldfish_with_white_spots_on_gill_covers.JPG

Scaredy Squirrel is a New World flying squirrel, of which there are only two species.
Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus), under synonym Pteromys volucella; illustration by John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851)
J.J. Audubon, The Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. I (1851), Plate XXVIII, opp. p. 216: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLib), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/61021753@N02/6260423251/

Acorns are important items in flying squirrels' diet: Canyon Oak (Quercus chrysolepis) acorns
Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Mountains, southern California: Ewen Roberts from San Diego, CA, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quercus_chrysolepis_acorns_Big_Bear_Lake.jpg

Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans): one of only two New World species of flying squirrels
North Madison neighborhood, North Madison, southeastern New Haven County, south central Connecticut: Cataloging Nature (Kristof Zyskowski & Yulia Bereshpolova), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/kz_yb/35582309366/

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

• Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library at: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34896043

Watt, Mélanie. 2007. Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend. Scaredy Squirrel Series Title #2. Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Tonawanda, NY, USA: Kids Can Press.