• Age: 3 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

See below for English description.

La sécurité avant tout! C’est la devise de Frisson l’écureuil. Après tout, il y a tant de créatures dangereuses qu’il n’aimerait pas rencontrer comme des mammouths, des chats, des pics et bien d’autres! C’est pourquoi il doit protéger son arbre coûte que coûte. Lorsqu’un malheureux événement fait tomber tous ses glands, il doit prendre une décision : rester caché ou s’aventurer dans des contrées inconnues. Frisson est de retour dans une nouvelle aventure hilarante qui fera rire les lecteurs!

Safety above everything! At least, that’s what Frisson thinks. After all, there are so many dangerous creatures this furry friend can cross — mammoths, cats, woodpeckers, and more! That’s why he must protect his tree at all costs. But when an unfortunate event causes all of his acorns to fall, he has a decision to make: stay hidden away or venture into the unknown. Frisson is back in a new hilarious adventure that is sure to make readers laugh.

Original title: Scaredy Squirrel in a Nutshell

La jeune auteure-illustratrice Mélanie Watt, née à Trois-Rivières, a remporté pour son travail de prestigieuses récompenses, dont le Prix Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz, le Prix Blue Spruce et le Prix Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon, tous les trois pour Frisson l'écureuil.

It was in a design class taught by Michèle Lemieux at the University of Quebec in Montreal that author and illustrator Mélanie Watt created her first picture book, Leon the Chameleon, which was later published by Kids Can Press. Watt went on to create several more books, including the Learning with Animals collection and Augustine, which was named an ALA Notable Children's Book. Watt has also illustrated Where Does a Tiger-Heron Spend the Night? and Bearcub and Mama, which won the 2006 IRA Teachers” Choices Project.

Mélanie's best known book, Scaredy Squirrel, has won many awards, including the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children”s Book Award for Children”s Picture Book and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator”s Award. The release of Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend was met with enthusiastic reviews and incredible sales, confirming the arrival of kid lit's newest superstar. Chester, Chester's Back! and Chester's Masterpiece are about a megalomaniac cat who is every bit the antithesis to Scaredy. Chester has already become a bestseller, and shows the breadth and creativity of Mélanie Watt.

Scaredy returns to take a few more tentative steps out of his comfort zone in Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach and Scaredy Squirrel at Night. Mélanie has often noted how the Scaredy Squirrel books helped her work out her own insecurities and fears, as the success of these titles has required her to venture out into the unknown, and like Scaredy she has found the experience truly uplifting.

Mélanie currently resides near Montreal, Quebec.

Melanie Watt's profile page

• Commended, Sélection Communication-Jeunesse