I Want to Sleep Under the Stars! (Unlimited Squirrels #3)

by Mo Willems

Overview

Mo Willems, creator of the revolutionary, award-winning, best-selling Elephant & Piggie books, has another breakout beginning-reader series. An ensemble cast of Squirrels, Acorns, and pop-in guests hosts a page-turning extravaganza. Each book features a funny, furry adventure AND bonus jokes, quirky quizzes, nutty facts, and so, so many Squirrels.

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!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368053358
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Series:	Unlimited Squirrels Series , #3
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	132,774
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mo Willems, a #1 New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded three Caldecott Honors for his picture books and two Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals and five Geisel Honors for his celebrated Elephant & Piggie series. Mo is the inaugural Education Artist-in-Residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He began his career as a writer and animator on Sesame Street , where he garnered six Emmy Awards. He lives in Massachusetts with his family. Learn more at pigeonpresents.com.

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR WHO IS THE MYSTERY READER?

"Willems' cartoony characters are as goofy and appealing as ever . . . The clueless squirrels fail to uncover the mystery readers' identities, but beginning readers will certainly puzzle this out as they are enjoying comic conventions (speech bubbles, panels, varied font sizes, etc.) and frequent metafictive asides. Smart, sassy, and laugh-out-loud fun; Willems remains at the top of his game."—Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2020

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

School Library Journal

2020-08-18
A star-themed bedtime story—and so much more!

The Unlimited Squirrels’ third series entry offers a “BIG Story!” along with a smorgasbord of squirrelly miscellany (jokes, a quiz, and facts). In the “BIG Story,” Zoom Squirrel dreams of sleeping under the stars for the first time. So, Zip Squirrel summons five other pals to help make it happen. At first the squirrels are uncertain how to help, but one suggests they all offer encouragement since Zoom Squirrel is trying something new (“Being encouraged gives me courage!”). The friends form a squirrel pyramid and chant “GO, ZOOMY!” and “YOU CAN DO IT!” But their encouragement doesn’t quite land. Zoom Squirrel wants “PEACE and QUIET,” not encouragement. The friends assume they’re simply using the wrong cheer so they split up into teams to shout “PEACE!” and whisper “Quiet!” By the time Zoom Squirrel corrects them again, it’s morning and the stars are gone! Having established the series formula, Willems is now free to explore it, and the installments get better and better. The smart design and layout uses color-coding and “emote-acorns” to help emerging readers decipher not only words and textual features, but feelings. The fact-based sections playfully combine photographs with Willems’ cartoon illustrations. In lieu of a bibliography to support the informational content, Willems thanks experts—a nod at citation but one that, unfortunately, doesn’t help readers who want to investigate further. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-13-inch double-page spreads viewed at 76% of actual size.)

Go, Unlimited Squirrels! Go, readers! (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews