Age 2-6

This picturebook is a rallying cry against our health-and-safety culture that won’t allow children to take risks for fear of harm. It is the tale of a squirrel who is afraid of the unknown — and of specific dangers from germs to green Martians — and who won’t leave his tree. He has a familiar daily timetable: “eat a nut”, “look at view”. He feels safe. But the downside is: “same old view”, “same old nuts”. And he is worried enough to take excessive precautions against unplanned eventualities. Then one day the unexpected happens. His emergency plans go awry, and he discovers, as he leaps in panic from the tree, a new talent. He feels “adventurous”, “carefree” and “overjoyed”. The moral: you only find yourself if you are daring.

The quirky, humorous text, with challenging words (“antibacterial”, “predictable”), makes good use of enjoyable lists and repetitions. Black-outlined, simple cartoons and flat colours are enlivened by a fold-out page and the dramatic use of arrows, and the book is neatly designed in a satisfying square format. Original and entertaining, this is not the same old nuts

SCAREDY SQUIRREL by Melanie Watt

(Happy Cat Books £9.99).

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