In this sequel to Willy the Scrub, the gang has joined an after-school kayaking club. Willy seems to get the hang of it fine, but Rufus and Clara are not doing so well. Clara, who is one of the school's top athletes, ends up upside-down in the rapids and develops a real fear of getting back into the water with her kayak. Her best friend makes sense: "Hey, you're a great athlete already. What do you have to prove? Just quit." Clara wonders if this sport really is "all wet."

Reviews:

Publishers Weekly, January 16, 2006

The star of Willy the Scrub and his gang of athletically challenged friends are back to try their hand at a new sport, this time joined by Clara, a top athlete, in Whitewater Scrubs by Jamie McEwan, illus. by John Margeson. But when the group signs up for an after-school kayaking club, it’s Clara who gets cold feet. The author, a whitewater slalom racer and an Olympic Medalist, captures some of the heart-pounding aspects of the sport and some insiders’ lingo. Margeson’s cartoon vignettes add a humorous touch.

School Library Journal, November, 2005

Clara, a top athlete, “was sure that anything Willy could do, she could do better. Right?” Not when faced with the challenging and unfamiliar sport of kayaking. Her pals, “the Scrubs,” convince her to try it, and she discovers she’s terrified of the rapids. Her conflicts are true to her character. She does not want to be a quitter or participate in a sport in which she cannot excel, but her biggest worry is exposing her fear. Plucky Clara resolves her problem while rescuing Willy from hip tipping kayak. Reluctant and transitional readers interested in sports will enjoy this story. Large type, double spacing, and small cartoons at the beginning of each chapter add accessibility and encouragement for beginning chapter-book readers. A humorous sequel to Willy the Scrub, this story stands onits own. The topic also offers a fresh kind of sports story.

The Midwest Book Review, November,2005

In this easy-to-read chapter book sequel to “Willy the Scrub,” Willy and the gang have joined an after-school kayaking club. Clara has always been one of the school’s top girl athletes, so she expects to be better than Willy, Rufus, and Dan. After all, they were “Scrubs” on the football team — and not so great at wrestling either. But when Clara can’t handle the whitewater and ends up upside-down in her kayak, she gets scared and thinks about quitting. Her best friend Julie thinks she should walk away from kayaking and the Scrubs. Clara has never quit anything before, but she just can’t make up her mind. Is kayaking really “all wet” or does she have something to prove?

Booklist, September 1, 2005

Clara was a star on the girls’ teams at school, but now she is handing out with Willie and the other scrubs from the football team. The foursome begins kayaking, and to Clara’s surprise, she is not only bad at kayaking, she is scared of it. Willie has natural ability, but he becomes frightened enough to quit after taking a tumble in the whitewater. Clara, who was going to quit, too, decides to stay, hoping Willie will continue as well. Large print and plenty of cartoon-style ink drawings make this right for kids just past easy readers. One caveat: this is a sequel to Willy the Scrub (2004) and it never really makes clear how Clara got together with the boys. A couple of sentences would have helped explain the situation. Still, there’s lots of action in this story about a sport of a different kind.

Children's Literature
When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or do they? Clara, the protagonist, has to find out if she can keep going when she faces some whitewater challenges. But she is not the only one feeling that way. The fun plot focuses on Clara, Willy, Dan, and Rufus as they learn to kayak--their alternative to going out for a school sport. The difficult part for Clara is that she has always been good at what she tries and now she may look like a scrub, too. Hard work, the idea of not giving up, cooperation, respect, and truth are the themes of the plot. They are not pointed out in a didactic way. Rather, they come across in subtle ways which allow the characters and the readers to learn from what is happening. The simple vocabulary and phrasing--along with short sentences and chapters--makes reading this chapter book a successful experience. Silly illustrations add to the entertainment by depicting Clara and her friends in a comical way.

The Wichita Eagle, September 24, 2005

Quality beginning reader chapter books are hard to find. Whitewater Scrubs by Jamie McEwan with illustrations by John Margeson (Darby Creek Publishing, ages 8 and up, $14.99) is a fine choice for reluctant readers of any age.

Willy and his friends are used to not being good at sports. After all, they are known as the Scrubs. But Clara has always been one of the best girl athletes. When both have troubles with kayaking, it is Clara who is the most worried.

This 64-page book has 11 chapters of 200 to 300 words each. McEwan has written an excellent plot with more depth of characters than expected. His balance of narration and conversation will engage readers. Margeson produced a small black-and-white, cartoon-style illustration to introduce each chapter.

Willy and Clara manage to stay with kayaking by encouraging each other. By competing in the end-of-season meet, they prove that even "Whitewater Scrubs" can have fun.

ThisWeek Newspapers, August 4, 2005

A young girl named Clara also learns some valuable lessons in WhitewaterScrubs (Darby Creek Publishing, $14.99, 63 pages), written by Jamie McEwan and illustrated by John Margeson. Clara learns the value of persistence and focus.

This chapter book for beginning readers features an athletic girl who is used to excelling in athletic undertakings. Then she tries kayaking.

The team consists mostly of boys and Clara soon finds she isn't dominating as easily as she's accustomed to in other sports.

Clara is tempted to quit and wishes she'd gone out for another sport. She has to overcome not only her own learning curve, but also a good deal of fear. That fear is compounded when she capsizes her kayak in frigid white water and must remember how to free herself from her kayak and get to the surface.

Her temptation to drop the sport is soon tested by her mounting anger and frustration with her own performance. Soon she's making lists -- weighing the consequences and implications of sticking it out or quitting.

Whitewater Scrubs is a sequel to McEwan's Willy the Scrub.