The Scout Is Out


Children - Animals
36 Pages
Reviewed on 11/20/2022
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

“Go out! Go out! You are our scout./ We need a place to live.” That’s Timmy’s mantra. You see, he’s the family’s scout and it’s his job to find a safe, dry place for his community. It’s not an easy job and it’s certainly filled with danger. Timmy meets all manner of threats on his quest for a new, dry home: insects and bats that want to eat him and other large creatures that want to see him squished and deleted. Timmy’s an ant. Not everyone’s favorite insect, but he does have a job to do – an important job. And he must face his anxieties and fears to get his job done. Just like we have to face our anxieties and fears, even if it means confronting a tiny ant in our home.

Grayce Presnar’s picture book, The Scout Is Out, is a clever way to teach young readers that those pesky little insects we might hate or be afraid of are really an important part of our ecosystem. We need to protect them as their jobs are to protect our environment. The story is told in rhyming verse and Timmy’s repeated mantra changes as the story progresses, which will encourage young readers to chant and cheer Timmy forward on his quest. The language is simple to help young readers follow along. The illustrations add perspective to the story and help move the plot on. The story is both entertaining and engaging and will instantly become a favorite with young readers, even those who don't like ants.

Jack Magnus

The Scout is Out is a children's picture book written by Grayce Presnar. The ants are in trouble. It's been raining for days, and their burrows are starting to flood. Timmy has been designated as the scout to try to find a safe place for the ants. He's wearing the khaki pants his mother made for him, and he has a torch. Timmy leaves the ant tunnels and finds a large house outside. He locates a tiny hole, manages to squeeze through it, and lands in the cellar. It's pretty nice in there, albeit dusty, but then he notices the spider webs and a dead bug in one of them, and another bug trapped and struggling. So Timmy figures it's not the right place for the ants, and he decides to check out the kitchen.

Grayce Presnar's children's picture book, The Scout Is Out, is something to shout about, or at least stand up and start reading this funny and surprisingly accomplished verse out loud. Presnar has a flawless sense of rhyme and timing, and her verse is inspired. Her pen and ink and oil pastel illustrations are disarmingly clever and funny all at once. I fell in love with Timmy and his khaki pants, and chuckled as he came face-to-face with the dog and the rat, but I think my favorite page is the attic and those bats. I had a grand time reading The Scout Is Out the first time, but found I enjoyed it even more the second time around. Then I began to consider who I could read it out loud to, right then and there. The Scout is Out is spectacularly good and it's most highly recommended.

Delene Vrey

The Scout Is Out by Grayce Presnar is an educational children’s book written to help her grandchild overcome his fear of small insects by showing that Timmy, the ant, is sent out by his mother to find alternative living space and food. The child realizes that even though the insects seem scary and a nuisance, they have a part to play in our lives. The story shows the young reader that Timmy is also scared and that he has many challenges in his daily life. As this is his first time leaving the ant nest, he ventures out with great expectations and reaches a house, where he is confronted with various obstacles. When he returns home, he has learned to avoid the human house and found a way to save his nest. Many colorful and fitting images highlight his experience. The Scout Is Out teaches children about the importance of nature and how we should protect our environment.

Grayce Presnar wrote The Scout Is Out at a suitable reader’s level, allowing older children to read on their own. Keeping the narrative flowing and rhyming enforces the language and grammar taught in this beautifully illustrated book; it is filled with original drawings that help children visualize the story of Timmy. The book has a positive tone while conveying the message of respecting other individuals and their surroundings. It portrays the environment as an intricate unit that functions as one. The Scout Is Out teaches the vital lesson that an individual’s space should encompass respecting the environment and taking care of it.

Diana Lopez

Insects can cause fear if they are unknown to us, but they are also part of our environment. If children learn more about these creatures, they will understand that there is nothing to be afraid of, especially ants. That's why Grayce Presnar shares a story from a different perspective in The Scout Is Out. In the beginning, the home of Timmy the ant begins to flood from the rains. As a good scout, his mission is to find a place where the colony can live safely. So, on his journey, he arrives at a house where he faces adversities and enormous challenges, such as encountering animals or exploring the different areas of the home. Despite great difficulties, he finds the courage to make a big journey that ends up being an adventure.

The Scout Is Out is a book made with love, and you can tell this by the hand-drawn pictures, the cheerful colors, and the variety of scenarios shown. Timmy is a very enthusiastic character who teaches the importance of not giving up. He cares about helping selflessly. Family is also depicted as a significant concept because that's where the interest in finding a better place to live originates. This story will help children see ants as beings with survival needs and help them face their fear of insects. Grayce Presnar uses melodious sentences that create a pleasant reading rhythm. The Scout Is Out is an excellent material to bring children closer to nature through an adventure story.

K.C. Finn

The Scout Is Out is a work of fiction in the adventure and animal subgenres. Aimed at children who are new to independent reading and those who still enjoy reading along with a parent or guardian, it was penned and illustrated by author Grayce Presnar. Written in verse and with delightful full-color illustrations throughout, we follow the adventures of Timmy, an ant set on scouting out the wider world for his community. Timmy will quickly discover the many dangers that the human world poses for a little ant just trying to make his way in the world, and some important lessons about leaving room for all creatures on the planet are ripe for learning.

Author Grace Presnar writes with whimsy and a sense of delight for nature that I really hope will be infused into the young minds who discover this charming book. The sing-song nature of the story gives it a nursery rhyme quality that I thought was really memorable, and I could see this book being enjoyed just as much in the classroom as it would be at home, and that it might inspire kids to write their own verses about the animal world. The illustrations are so relatable for the age group because of their pencil shading style, and they brim with vibrant colors to give a sense of motion and life. Overall, I would certainly recommend The Scout Is Out and this little ant in his khaki pants for young readers everywhere to enjoy and learn from.

Melanie Kennedy

The Scout Is Out is a lovely children’s picture book by Grayce Presnar. Timmy, the ant, has to find a new home for his colony after the rain threatens to flood their nest. Timmy braves the scary voyage with his new khaki pants, helmet, goggles, and compass. On his first trip scouting, Timmy finds a big house to explore. Unfortunately, none of the rooms seem to be safe for him or his colony. The basement is full of spiders and they don’t take kindly to ants. The first floor has its scariest predator: the family dog. On the second floor, the pouncing cat would spell their doom. And even the attic is a no-go as it is full of rats and bats. With all these dangers ahead, can Timmy find a safe space for the colony?

The Scout Is Out is such an extraordinary children’s book. Grayce Presnar’s message in Timmy, the scout, made me look at my environment in a new light. As human beings, we often forget about creatures smaller than us, especially creatures as small as ants. This is a wonderful reminder for children and adults alike to stop, notice, and appreciate the world and life around us. I absolutely loved the illustrations in The Scout Is Out. A lot of love and effort went into drawing them as well as the reason Grayce Presnar decided to write this story. Grayce has also mastered the art of clever and catching rhymes. The Scout Is Out is a heartwarming and poignant story for children and adults alike.