[[battersby]]In the follow-up to Squish Rabbit, Squish lets us in on some of his biggest fears. Squish doesn’t like storms and he especially doesn’t like the dark. (To this particular reviewer, of great interest is Squish’s fear of chickens - I feel better for knowing I’m not the only one, Squish.) But one thing Squish loves is his friend Twitch, so when Twitch is nowhere to be found Squish has to face his fears.

The storyline is wonderfully reminiscent of Arnold Lobel’s almost unbearably touching Frog and Toad story, ‘Christmas Eve’, in which Toad imagines all sorts of terrible things happening to his best friend and goes hunting for him. But Battersby presents us here with a story far better suited to pre-schoolers with night-time fears (or any fears…see above: chickens).

The digital collage is striking and effective and Battersby conveys emotion with such heart-rending simplicity, it’s impossible not to love dear little Squish. Not to mention the squishy glow-in-the-dark cover!

[[emily-gale-staff-pic]] Emily Gale