Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend. DVD. 12 min. with tchr’s. guide. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-47813-7. $59.95; CD, ISBN 978-0-545-47812-0: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-47932-5: $29.95; CD with paperback book, ISBN 978-0-545-47935-6: $18.95.
PreS-Gr 3–Scaredy Squirrel, the comic rodent whose name is also a defining characteristic, is looking for the perfect friend but instead finds an almost perfect one in the form of a slightly germ
y, drooling dog. The humor is effectively conveyed in this animated production which brings Scaredy’s personality and his lists to life, successfully evoking Melanie Watts’s cartoon illustrations. David deVries’s well-paced narration is complemented by lively but unobtrusive music and sound effects. A bonus segment, “The Making of Scaredy Squirrel” by director Galen Fott, demystifies animation by demonstrating how the pieces for a very short segment come together. Fott harkens back to Melanie Watts’s book (Kids Can, 2007) and highlights how the film version (Weston Woods) differs from but still remains faithful to the original work. Since the print version uses lists, split pages, and other visually interesting devices to vary format, the use of the CD for read-along might be most appropriate for children who have started to read independently or who are familiar with the other books in the series.–Maria Salvadore, formerly Washington DC Public Library