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]

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]

Works

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

Chester
  • Chester (2009)
  • Chester's Back! (2013)
  • Chester's Masterpiece (2020)

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. Questions à... Mélanie Watt.
  3. "Mélanie Watt | Kids Can Press". www.kidscanpress.com. 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.
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