Outstanding Picture Books to Teach Reading and Writing Strategies

Scaredy Squirrel has a problem. He only feels safe at home in his nut tree. That’s the premise of the three Scaredy Squirrel titles, authored by Melanie Watt. As I’ve written before, I love using picture books to teach certain reading strategies. To me, authentic reading includes any reading that would be done voluntarily, outside of the classroom, either for enjoyment or for information. I believe that the Scaredy Squirrel series meets my definition of ‘authentic reading’.

Though the reading levels of the books hover around the 3^rd grade level, Scaredy Squirrel is at level 3.6, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend is 3.0 and Scaredy Squirrel Goes to the Beach is 3.6, I feel that’s it’s perfectly acceptable using this text to teach 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and even 5^th graders. The way the Watt organizes the text is perfect for giving kids practice and background knowledge with organizing information and representing it in graphic organizers and Thinking Maps. Each of the titles also gives good illustrations on what motivates characters and how they undergo changes.

If ever there was a series of books about facing your fears of change, this is it! Not just for kids, Scaredy Squirrel has a meaningful (and hilarious!) lesson for all of us about trying new things and experiencing the world in new ways. It’s a great reading choice for students going through life changes: new school, new home, new city, or a new relationship. I’ve read this book to 2^nd-5^th graders; they all roared with laughter, and afterwards, several students wanted to make up their own version using a different animal. It is great fun as a read-aloud, but the kids also loved looking at it in small groups--they seemed to find some new detail each time.

The humor in the book will appeal to adults and kids, too. Watt pokes fun at people who are afraid of everything, but it's a sympathetic sort of fun. We can tell that she's been there, too. We know what to expect from the warning on the very first page: "Warning! Scaredy Squirrel insists that everyone wash their hands with antibacterial soap before reading this book."

The vocabulary in the book doesn't talk down to kids. For instance: "He'd rather stay in his safe and familiar tree than risk venturing out into the unknown." Venturing-kids ought to know what venturing is. Venturing is the basis for adventure, after all.