High and Dry? Don't Splash the Sasquatch! by Kent Redeker

"HELLO, LIFEGUARD BLOBULE!

MAY I PLEASE SIT BY YOUR POOL? I HOPE I DON'T GET SPLASHED. MY FUR GETS ALL SQUZZLEFIED!"

"OF COURSE, SENOR SASQUATCH!"

Sasquatch is a bit of a dandy, determined to be always impeccably turned out, but it seems his fur becomes quite unruly when wet. Lifeguard Blobule helpfully pulls out his megaphone, stands up, and loudly gets the swimmers' attention.

"D0N'T SPLASH THE SASQUATCH!"

But no sooner has Senor Sasquatch settled himself in his poolside lounge chair and donned his stylish sunglasses than a new swimmer has a request.

"LIFEGUARD BLOBULE, MAY I PLEASE TAKE A DIP IN YOUR POOL?" ASKS MISS ELEPHANT-SHARK.

"OKAY, BUT PLEASE DON'T...."

SPLASH!!!

Senor Sasquatch is splattered. He towels himself off, smooths down his fur, and settles down again for some sun.

But there's no snoozing in the sunshine in store for Sasquatch. First Octo-Rhino, then Miss Goat-Whale, and then Miss Loch-Ness-Monster-Space-Alien appear, and one after the other, cannonball into the pool. Sasquatch is soaked, and as he feared....

Sasquatch is squizzlefied! And ANGRY!

Whoops!

But not to worry. It seems that all the swimmers are also skilled hairdressers, and they all get busy. They spin, and shimmy the squizzlefied Sasquatch, and with brushes and blow dryers, and styling gel they soon have him looking spiffy again! So snazzy indeed that he's inspired to plan his own party for all of them...

A POOL PARTY?

Oh, NO!

In Kent Redeker's newest, Don't Splash the Sasquatch! (A Sasquatch Picture Book) (Hyperion Books, 2016), the author uses the cumulative tale format which will have listening youngsters predicting what is going to happen next, right down to the final splash. Clever book design, with a four-page gatefold that incorporates the joint restyling of the squizzelfied Sasquatch, set off the quirky cartoon style of Bob Staake's chimerical crazy critters in a kaleidoscope of comic action.

Pair this one with its companion book, Don't Squish the Sasquatch! See review here) for giggles in a saga in which a nattily-dressed Sasquatch tries to preserve his personal space as more and more wacky characters squeeze on board the bus.