In I Want to Sleep Under the Stars, Zoom Squirrel dreams of sleeping under the night stars. The Squirrel pals are excited to help! But will their encouragement be enough—or too much? Do you know more about sleeping under the stars than the Squirrels do? You will by the end of this book!Jokes. Animal facts and facts about stars. Full-color illustrations.
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This installment of the early-reader series (I Lost My Tooth!, rev. 11/18; Who Is the Mystery Reader?) follows the format of silly main story, some informational follow-up, and three “A-corny” joke interludes. The “BIG Story!” concerns the Squirrel friends’ attempts to make Zoom Squirrel’s dream of sleeping “under the stars” come true. The gang is full of good if misguided intentions: enthusiastic cheering (“GO, ZOOMY! GO, ZOOMY! GO, ZOOMY!”) and rival teams “PEACE!” and “Quiet!” keep Zoom awake until “THE STARS ARE GONE!” In one of two (mostly) nonfiction sections, “Squirrel to the Stars,” Nutshell reveals the stars aren’t really gone and a few other astral facts. Quiz Squirrel’s “Fur Real” provides information about sleep habits of squirrels, armadillos, and house plants. Color-coded speech balloons and Willems’s reliably expressive cartoon characters aid comprehension; “Emote-acorns” show up “when the Squirrels have BIG feelings” to reinforce the mood. This genre mash-up has what it takes to encourage newly independent readers: “‘En-cour-aged’? What does that mean?’ ‘Being told you can do it by a friend.’” KITTY FLYNN
K-Gr 2-The Unlimited Squirrels return for even more "acorn-y" fun, and there are "emote-acorns" punctuating the story as emojis do. True to established series structure, this is an easy reader told in interconnected vignettes with those acorn-y jokes in between, and a Table of Condiments so nothing gets lost. Zoom Squirrel dreams of sleeping under the stars, and Zip Squirrel is determined to help make that happen! But when Zip recruits all the squirrels to help encourage Zoom, the plan goes awry. The main story is followed by two additional (mostly) expository vignettes on the sleep habits of animals and the movement of the stars, and all of this is tied together with zany humor. Clean, crisp character drawings with sparse text lettered in various sizes and weights are encapsulated in speech bubbles. Educators know that Willems's simplicity is deceiving-the vocabulary and punning are unforgettable language lessons in disguise. This is a fun mix of fiction and expository writing that will appeal to both children and adults-conducted by characters with names like Wink, Flink, and Klink, and populated by an esprit de corps with bushy tails (although Flappy Squirrel is a bird). VERDICT A first purchase where previous titles by Willems are popular-where are they not?-Jessica Caron, Bancroft Sch., MA?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.