Mélanie Watt

Mélanie Watt (born August 20, 1975 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian children's author and illustrator.[1][2] She is best known for Scaredy Squirrel, which won the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award and was published in French as Frisson l'écureuil.[3] Melanie Watt's other major picture book series is Chester, which is about a cat named Chester who competes with Watt for the chance to write and illustrate his books. The Chester book received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.[4]

Mélanie Watt
Born (1975-08-20) August 20, 1975
Montreal, Quebec
Alma materUniversité du Québec à Montréal
Occupation(s)Children's book author and illustrator
Notable workScaredy Squirrel

As of 2012, she has sold over two million books that have been translated into 23 languages.[5]

Biography

As a child, Mélanie Watt enjoyed drawing the comic strip character Garfield.[6] The Scaredy Squirrel series is influenced by Watt's childhood experiences,[7] including her childhood fear of sharks.[6] She received a BA in graphic design from the Université du Québec à Montréal.[8] In 1999, while enrolled in an illustration class taught by Michele Lemieux, Watt wrote her first story, Leon the Chameleon.[8]

One of her inspirations is children's book author Mo Willems.[8]

She currently resides near Montreal.[3]

Awards and honours

Five of Watt's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Leon the Chameleon (2001),[9] Scaredy Squirrel (2006),[10] Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend (2007),[11] Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach (2008),[12] and Scaredy Squirrel at Night (2009).[13]

Awards for Watt's books
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2006 Scaredy Squirrel Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books Winner [14]
2007 Scaredy Squirrel ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [15][16]
2007 Scaredy Squirrel Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award Winner [10]
2008 Chester's Back Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books Finalist [17]
2011 Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party Goodreads Choice Award for Picture Books Nominee [18]
2015 Bug in a Vacuum Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books Finalist [19]

Works

Scaredy Squirrel
  • Scaredy Squirrel (2006)
  • Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend (2007)
  • Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach (2008)
  • Scaredy Squirrel at Night (2009)
  • Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party (2011)
  • Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping (2013)
  • Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween (2013)

Chester
  • Chester (2009)
  • Chester's Back! (2013)
  • Chester's Masterpiece (2010)

Other works
  • Leon the Chameleon (2001)
  • Colors (2005)
  • Augustine (2009)
  • You're Finally Here! (2011)
  • Have I Got a Book for You (2013)
  • Bug in a Vacuum (2015)

References
  1. Quill & Quire. Canadian Magazine Publishers Association. 2005.
  2. Fortin, Marie-Claude (2012-11-14). "Questions à... Mélanie Watt". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  3. "Mélanie Watt | Kids Can Press". Kids Can press. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  4. "Chester". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  5. "Best-selling Montreal author values lessons over sales". Montreal. 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  6. Meet Mélanie Watt, retrieved July 7, 2021
  7. "Scaredy Squirrel Creator Mélanie Watt on Reading, Writing and Fear". CBC/Radio Canada. October 25, 2012.
  8. "Author-Illustrator Interview: Mélanie Watt on Scaredy Squirrel". Cynthia Leitich Smith. May 12, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  9. "Leon the Chameleon by Mélanie Watt". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  10. "Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  11. "Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend by Mélanie Watt". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  12. "Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach by Mélanie Watt". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  13. "Scaredy Squirrel at Night by Mélanie Watt". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  14. "2006 Cybils Winners". Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  15. "Scaredy Squirrel | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 2007-09-15. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  16. "Notable Children's Books: 2007". Booklist. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  17. "2008 Cybils Finalists". Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  18. "Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  19. "2015 Cybils Finalists". Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
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