• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 3 to 7

A zany picture book that will resonate with anyone who's ever been kept waiting.

The latest from the creator of the best-selling Scaredy Squirrel series stars a hilariously needy and impatient bunny. This is no ordinary picture-book character, and it will quickly become clear that this is no ordinary picture book - namely because you, the reader, are on the spot. You're late!

At first, this little bunny is deliriously excited by your arrival, but now that you're finally here, he wants to know: where were you? He's been waiting long enough to learn an accordion solo, among other time-consuming pursuits.

After he's shown you how it feels to be kept waiting and just when he's finally satisfied that you're a good steady page-turner who's here to stay, something happens to turn the tables. The result is an off-beat ending worth waiting for!

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

• Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Starred Selection, Canadian Children's Book Centre

... gleeful and engaging...

Quill & Quire, Starred Review

You’re Finally Here!