Mélanie Watt
Mélanie Watt is a Canadian children's author and illustrator. 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. 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. Chester, the first book in the series, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
As of 2012, she has sold over two million books that have been translated into 23 languages.
Biography
As a child, Mélanie Watt enjoyed drawing the comic strip character Garfield. The Scaredy Squirrel series is influenced by Watt's childhood experiences, including her childhood fear of sharks. She received a BA in graphic design from the Université du Québec à Montréal. In 1999, while enrolled in an illustration class taught by Michele Lemieux, Watt wrote her first story, Leon the Chameleon.One of her inspirations is children's book author Mo Willems.
She currently resides near Montreal.
Awards and honours
Five of Watt's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Leon the Chameleon, Scaredy Squirrel, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach, and Scaredy Squirrel at Night.| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2006 | Scaredy Squirrel | Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books | Winner | |
| 2007 | Scaredy Squirrel | ALSC Notable Children's Books | Selection | |
| 2007 | Scaredy Squirrel | Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award | Winner | |
| 2008 | Chester's Back | Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books | Finalist | |
| 2011 | Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party | Goodreads Choice Award for Picture Books | Nominee | |
| 2015 | Bug in a Vacuum | Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books | Finalist |
Works
''[Scaredy Squirrel]''
Scaredy Squirrel Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach Scaredy Squirrel at Night Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween Scaredy Squirrel in a Nutshell Scaredy Squirrel Gets a Surprise Scaredy Squirrel Visits the Doctor- ''Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive''
''Chester''
Chester Chester's Back!- ''Chester's Masterpiece''
Other works
Leon the Chameleon Colors Augustine You're Finally Here! Have I Got a Book for You- ''Bug in a Vacuum''