Squashed Book Review and GIVEAWAY

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Book Review and Giveaway

Squashed

A graphic novel by Meaghan Tosi

Based on a story by Thomas Tosi

Published by Dooney Press

Review

What begins as a minor sibling altercation, quickly turns to a fear-inducing episode. After playing keep-away with his little sister's teddy bear, an older brother discovers an odd-looking, warm pumpkin guarded by a trio of scarecrows.  Shortly after taking the pumpkin home and incubating it, the boy is disturbed by a scarecrow bursting into his home in search of the pumpkin. Frozen with fear, he cannot react. It is the little sister, previously the victim of the brother's shenanigans, who comes to the rescue with her quick thinking. 

Almost-wordless images fill one's field of vision, evoking visceral responses. Readers are in for a whirlwind of feeling as the teddy bear is lost, the pumpkin is found, the scarecrow appears, and the baby is discovered. Perfect for fall, Squashed is filled with autumn colors and a spooky undercurrent. It is not merely for the roller coaster or the autumnal vibes that one would read this, however. Upon closer examination, Squashed showcases the strength of a sibling bond and the value of looking beyond appearances. (And it fits perfectly with my focus for the year: heroines!)

Squashed will be ideal for an audience of emergent and pre-readers who enjoy enjoy the spooky season.  The minimal text encourages prereading skills while the exciting storyline engages, and the illustrations and plot could not be more timely.

T's Synopsis and Review

At the beginning, the girl is playing pooh-sticks with her teddy bear, and then the two boys come along. The two boys take her teddy bear and throw it up on a tree. They look for a stick to get it down, but they find something mysterious: a pumpkin covered in white ooze. But, they never got the teddy bear down.  

There were a bunch of scarecrows around the pumpkin. The kids bring the pumpkin home. Then, in the middle of the night, the kids wake up to a surprise. *Ending not included so as to avoid spoilers.

How do I describe it? Well, it was pretty short and didn't have many words. I wouldn't exactly call it spooky. I like how they included a part from a different book - I like that they added the pooh-sticks part. I like books that have characters from a different book in them. The illustrations are pretty good, I must say. The girl was my favorite because she's pretty nice. The scarecrows are pretty good.

GIVEAWAY
Squashed Book Giveaway
Enter above for a chance to win an awesome Dooney Press Gift Pack of books and more fun goodies!

One (1) grand prize winner receives:
Dooney Press Gift Pack:
- ONE hardcover book Squashed
- ONE paperback book Six Thousand Doughnuts
- ONE paperback book Dweedy: The Imagined Adventures of My Deceased Cat
- ONE DVD of the original family-produced short film Squashed

Four (4) winners receive:
- ONE paperback book Squashed

Note: Per FTC guidelines, I disclose partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Dooney Press.