Oooooooooooh, I'm so Scaaaaaared!

Scaredy Squirrel, by Melanie Watt, insists that everyone wash their hands with antibacterial soap before reading his book. Ever met a rodent with OCD? Read right on! Scaredy squirrel never leaves his nut tree because he is a furry little control freak who just can't deal with the possibility of meeting up with any of the several things that terrify him out in the big wide world. These things include, but are not limited to, tarantulas, poison ivy, green martians, germs, sharks, and killer bees.

Good point, Scaredy Squirrel.

But one day, Scaredy Squirrel's comfy routine gets wrecked by an event that not even his carefully stocked emergency kit can save him from! A killer (ahem) bee approaches, and as he flails around wildly, he falls (?) from his tree to his death. OK, he glides from his tree to a bush where he scares himself so much he plays dead for 2 hours, then climbs back up. Scaredy Squirrel ends the book by making some big changes to his safe little life. (ok, not so big...read this book dammit, and find out!)

Cutest book ever. Written for neurotic adults who want to feel better about themselves and preternaturally tightassed preschoolers. And Audrey, do you remember a certain jumping-off-roof incident that occurred somewhere south of the border when we were 14, due to a killer, enormous, deadly, coming-right-at-me bumblebee? hmmmm. I wonder why i loved this book so much...

Note to readers; this is a picturebook. I will review anything I want to in this blog. You too should read more kid's lit.

Warning: graphic content

This is heroine number two signing in. Yes, when Audrey and I get together, we cook up the most amazing (often illegal) plans. Yesterday I read Neil Gaiman's Sandman: The Doll's House while floating around on an air mattress on Buntzen lake. And yes, being a librarian gives me absolute freedom to do with books all the things I forbid you to do. This includes, but is not limited to, activities such as reading in the bath, reading while eating sloppy joes and fizzy pop, reading while lounging around on floatation devices, and reading while seriously impaired.

Anyhow, back to the book. Love the story, hate the art. Need more detail? I thought this book was a tease. Gorgeously horrifying photo art on the cover and front pages, creepily blurred and superimposed introductory text, followed by...crap. Art that I would expect from a failed out DC comics hack with a mild brain injury. Even Gaiman's consistently excellent storytelling can't save this graphic novel from crapdom. I only read it cuz i was trapped on a floaty thing; normally i bail out immediately from such a yawnorama.

But don't be deterred; Sandman comics in general are good. Find out more about this generally superior series at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(DC_Comics/Vertigo). Just don't bother with this particular edition. Instead, check out Kabuki, David Mack's hauntingly slow paced graphic novel at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki_%28comic%29. Enjoy!