• Age: 3 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

See below for English description.

Frisson l’écureuil a une longue liste de choses à faire pour les fêtes de fin d’année, et il se met à la tâche avec cœur dans cette histoire amusante et chaleureuse sur les préparatifs de Noël.

Le temps des fêtes peut être une période stressante de l’année, et Frisson, l’écureuil le plus anxieux du monde, le sait mieux que quiconque. Dans cette troisième aventure, Frisson se prépare pour Noël... et il est TRÈS en avance (en juillet, c’est un peu trop tôt, non?). Cependant, quand décembre arrive enfin, tout est prêt : des décorations aux tons parfaits de rouge et de vert, un rassemblement planifié à la perfection (pas une grosse fête!), des cadeaux parfaits et personnalisés pour chacun de ses amis, tous les permis nécessaires à la construction d’une maison en pain d’épices (remplis parfaitement) et, bien sûr, un endroit parfaitement sécurisé avec un emplacement parfait pour le père Noël. Oui, tout va bien se passer...

Frisson trouvera-t-il le moyen de se détendre et de profiter des festivités à sa façon?

Frisson has a holiday to-do list, and he's checked it way more than twice in this hilarious story about getting ready for Christmas.

Holidays can be a stressful time of year, and nobody knows that better than Frisson — the world’s most anxious squirrel. In his third NUTTY ADVENTURE, Frisson is getting ready for Christmas ahead of time…WAY ahead of time (July). When December finally rolls around, Frisson has everything in place: perfect red-and-green decorations, a perfect get-together planned (no parties!), perfectly personalized gifts for each of his friends, all the required permits for gingerbread-house construction (perfectly filled out) and, of course, a perfectly secured premises with a perfect spot for Santa. Yup, nothing can possibly go wrong…

Will Frisson find a way to relax and enjoy the festivities in his own way?

Original title : Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive

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