Member Reviews

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Blahh is about the best way to describe it. The illustrations are cute.. ish and the messages is okay, I guess. Walter not respecting boundaries is troublesome. Then Willy giving back what's fair seems to be a two wrongs don't make a right kind of moment. Both characters end happy and well though...

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You Can't Scare Me (Willy & Walter)
Author : Bonnie Grubman
Illustrations: Judi Abbot
Reading level : 4 and up
Publication date : March 31, 2020
Book length : 32 pages
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

description :
Best friends Walter and Willy are having a sleepover.
Walter thinks it’s fun to scare Willy.
But what happens when the tables get turned?
🐖🐷MY REVIEW🐖🐷
This is an awesome book! I love this book, and so does my 4 year old daughter ! I have only had this book for a few days and I've already read it about 30 times. She keeps asking me to read it over and over ! Children and adults alike will enjoy this great book filled with silly antics, colorful illustrations and laughs galore ! It is a really great thought-provoking read
about How would you feel if someone did that to you?
Many thanks to the Publisher, Author , and NetGalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you would like to follow my reviews please do so at my facebook page Joyce Stewart Reviews or my reading group Stewart Book Reviews Book Club.
#YouCantScareMe #NetGalley

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I thought that this story was a good twist on the boy who cried wolf.
I liked the images and found the story was easy to follow too.
The layout of the book was nice, bright and attractive too.
It is 3.5 stars from me for this one and it is one I can see being read more than once!

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Definitely an attention-grabbing, fun and thought-provoking read. Catchy illustrations, interesting story about two young characters, i.e. piglets, and their controversial relationship. Dynamic plot for little readers. If we could just ask kids what they think and how they feel about such books!
Perhaps there's more to the story for an older audience as well. With a distinctive moral side, there's a lot to think about, analyze and judge.
Education, upbringing, distinguishing between good and evil are all serious things.
The only downside might be the frivolous way of presenting the storyline, without comprehensive explanation and guidance, bearing in mind the particular genre. Therefore,
better targeting would be advisable.

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Such a cute book with great illustrations! This teaches students to be fair. Also shows a good friendship

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I'm not sure who it is for because at first look it seems like two young pigs having a sleepover but the way they talk and the fact that one of them just heads home on his own makes them seem older. We are told they are best friends but they don't really seem like friends. I'm not sure why they are having a sleepover in the first place. If Willy is old enough to just head home without a parent picking him up, why did he agree to a sleepover with a "friend" who has a history of disrespecting his boundaries? To top it all off, the problem is "solved" by Willy doing the same thing to his "friend" so not a great message there.

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This picture book tells the story of a pig who keeps scaring his friend at their sleepover, doing things like putting fake spiders in his sleeping bag. The friend keeps telling him to stop but he doesn't, until finally the friend goes home. He comes back disguised as a wolf and scares the scarer, who laughs after being scared. They make up and the original scarer says he'll maybe not scare his friend again, but makes it seem as if he might. It's hard to know how kids will take this, as the first friend is pretty much a jerk in scaring his buddy again and again after being asked to stop, and I'm not sure the scared kid would really feel just fine after getting to turn the tables and be the scary one for once. The annoying pig doesn't really seem to learn a lesson, but kids might adopt the message that it's all in good fun and maybe they should try playing tricks too? I'm not sure how kids will interpret this, but the art is colorful and sweet. The text is a little clunky and it's not a book I'd enjoy reading at story time, but young children may enjoy it.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

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This is billed as a book for the very young regarding friendship and how we shouldn't impose our wishes on others, but to me it's also about karma, and things coming round – here one piglet friend is fed up with the other's constant attempts to scare and gross him out. But what's it like when the shoe is on the other trotter? Well presented, with at most a few lines in a paragraph per page, it has a peculiar half-hearted attempt at making effect through different font sizes, but on the whole is worth consideration. Four stars is slightly generous, but not far off.

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Very cute! This book is just a bit of silly fun. The illustrations are adorable. I can see kids loving this one and having a bit of a giggle.

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An adorable little story that reminds us to keep it light and enjoy life but enjoy others boundaries as well. Illustrations and characters are too cute. I will be buying this for my grandchildren's library.

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The synopsis claims that this is "a barely scary story about friendship and respect". Unfortunately, there's little respect shown, and Walter and Willy behave terribly toward one another. I don't think the scenario in this book is one I want to see kids emulating. The description would be more accurate if it said this was "a disturbing story about revenge and boundary violation".

Walter keeps scaring Willy, even though Willy repeatedly tells Walter he doesn't like it. He threatens to leave if Walter doesn't knock it off. Walter promises he will. But then, of course, he breaks that promise. (Little jerk.) Willy goes home and refuses to speak to Walter.

That could've been the beginning of a nice lesson about respect. Unfortunately, the story decided to go with a revenge angle. Willy shows up at Walter's door dressed as a wolf. Walter is terrified, thinking that Willy has been eaten and that he's going to be next. But then Willy reveals himself and they both have a good laugh about it.

I'm sorry, but I don't see what's so funny. A wolf showing up at a pig's doorstep has got to be one of the most terrifying, traumatic things ever. It's probably the pig equivalent of a bloody guy with a chainsaw or a suicide bomber showing up on a human's doorstep. How this ties in with respect is anyone's guess; neither pig seems to care about his friend's feelings at all.

The pictures are cute, and this could've been a good story if the narrative had taken a few different turns. As it is, though, it doesn't teach the respect it claims to, and actually encourages children to violate others' boundaries for a laugh.

Nope. This just isn't good enough.

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This was a cute, silly book that my 6 year old enjoyed. Two friends are having a sleep over and one keeps scaring the other. He finally leaves, upset about the pranks and comes back later to trick his friend. I didn't think there was an overarching moral of the story to teach a child, but we could speak to forgiving a friend and making up after a fight.
Overall, this was a fun book that my child enjoyed and we would read again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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You Can't Scare Me was such a cute book! I read it to two of the kids that I babysit and they loved it! They stayed engaged the whole time. The length of the book was perfect!

They really loved the characters and the story! It was the perfect book to read with Halloween coming up. I highly recommend this book and so do the kids! We will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book.

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An adorable story of friendship and a humorous reminder to respect others' boundaries. Perfect for Halloween or during a sleepover. I plan to share it with my three-year-old grandson.

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You Can't Scare Me (Willy & Walter) is a very cute colorful story. Love the cute little spider that is hiding in all pages. Good story about what goes around comes around.

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What a fabulous spin on The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Children need a reminder not to be scared at every little thing. Children need a reminder not to overdo it with the drama too. Why not combine the two into one sweet tale and remind them we can all be friends if we put limits on them all?
Nicely played.

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A big thank you to NetGalley and Clovis Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's fiction book. I found it to be a bit odd. It's ok for Willy to scare Walter but not the other way? The illustrations were cute, and I think small kids would love this but I'm just not sure what the point is!? I give it a 3.

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So this wasn’t my favorite book. It was a little too silly and lacked a real point for me, BUT my five year old LOVED it and giggled and laughed the whole way through it. He loves the “catchy a piggy by the toe” part and the fact that they are popcorn (his favorite snack). This gets three stars from me and 5 stars from Griffin, so we’ll split the difference at 4. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc!

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