Stories for Growing
Cover of Scaredy SquirrelAges 4 to 8
CourageKnowing yourself

Scaredy Squirrel

Mélanie Watt

Ages 4 to 8
About this age guidance

Publishers Weekly: 4–8; Kirkus (app edition): 3–7

The age tag follows Publishers Weekly review. Other sources may suggest different ages. This is audience guidance, not an independent reading level.

Called a classic picture book about fear. The parent says children will laugh at his over-preparation and cheer when he finally leaves the tree.

An anxious squirrel keeps to his tree and his routine and plans for every disaster. An accident sends him out of the tree, and he finds he can glide. The discovery opens his world a little, though his cautious habits do not disappear.

Recommended by What Do We Do All Day?

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What children see in the story

Leaving the tree is the frightening step; what he finds outside is the reward for having taken it. Outside his routine he learns something about himself he did not know.

Why it’s on these shelves

Courage
Scaredy Squirrel stays in his nut tree to avoid sharks, killer bees, Martians and germs. When something unexpected sends him out of it, he discovers he can glide, and his world grows a little.
Knowing yourself
Outside his tree, Scaredy Squirrel learns something he never knew about himself: he is a flying squirrel and can glide. His careful habits don’t disappear, but they loosen.

Why pick it up?

He learns he can fly and is more open to the outside, though not transformed.

A note for parents

The first leap is accidental rather than chosen.

Where this recommendation comes from

What Do We Do All Day?

Called a classic picture book about fear. The parent says children will laugh at his over-preparation and cheer when he finally leaves the tree.

Read What Do We Do All Day?’s recommendation
Sources and review status

We have checked source descriptions and drafted the value mapping. We have not personally reviewed the full book. The value labels, situation assignments, and parent notes remain provisional.

Publisher or literacy resource · Original recommendation

Our explanation of the value fit is separate from the original reviewer’s judgment. Their inclusion here does not imply an endorsement of Stories for Growing.

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