Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Those who worried how the world would survive the end of the Elephant & Piggie books can now rest easy; Willems is letting loose a new beginning reader series, Unlimited Squirrels. In this volume, Zoom Squirrel loses a front tooth, resulting in a temporary lisp. His confused, surprised, and saddened friends (we know this because Willems helpfully provides emote-acorns to identify these big feelings) vow to find it, especially once they learn it is a baby tooth (cue tears and wailing). Eventually the errant incisor returns and gets pushed off the page in a buggy. But wait, there's more! Willems also provides several acorn-y jokes, a section of Squirrelly Facts (it turns out real squirrels lose only their back teeth, not the front ones), and a short quiz (revealing additional dentition details). Willems' cartoony art (here rendered in brown and green tones) makes good use of comic conventions, including speech bubbles, panels, action words and symbols, and varied font sizes. The large cast of characters is introduced on the endpapers, and a self-referential title page depicts the characters pushing and opening this book. Similar in style and tone to Elise Gravel's Disgusting Critters series, this is sure to engage, amuse, and inform on a topic of great concern to this age group. Bring on the next one, please! HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Preschoolers' newest obsession starts here. Hoard it like acorns.--Kay Weisman Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Full of signature Willems hilarity, this beginning reader series opener stars 16 squirrels whose cheerful energy bursts from the pages. When Zoom Squirrel tells the other squirrels about its lost tooth ("Th! Th! Th!" Zoom keeps saying, experimenting with the new hole in its mouth), the revelation is met by over-the-top cries of dismay. "The tooth was loose," Zoom Squirrel explains reasonably. "You should not let a tooth go loose, Zoom Squirrel," Zap Squirrel cries. "Teeth have no sense of direction," Zing Squirrel adds. "WE WILL FIND YOUR TOOTH!" the scurry shouts in chorus, and the story builds even after the tooth is found. The squirrels all sport adorable, bean-shaped noses, and a chart on the endpapers shows which is which. The action unfolds against a clean white backdrop, the better to emphasize the chatter; acorn emojis pepper the pages to convey moments of emotional impact; and tooth facts and back-of-the-cereal-box jokes round out the tale. New readers will giggle as they puzzle out new words and sounds. Ages 6-8. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt Agency. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In this first title in a new easy reader series, Zoom Squirrel has lost his baby tooth and his frenetic squirrel friends (with names like Boom, Zap, and Zowie) are frantic to help him find it, because they literally think the tooth is a baby that must be scared, alone, and hungry! The madcap silliness and humor will please fans of "Elephant & Piggie." The format is similar, too, with spare text in speech bubbles along with varying text size and boldness to convey strong emotions. Clean, simply drawn illustrations are done in muted shades of brown. In addition to the story, there are a couple of other sections (enough to warrant a Table of Contents for the 96-page book) such as "Acorn-y Jokes," and the clever addition of some factual information about teeth, provided by a character named Research Rodent. Savvy readers will find Pigeon hiding on one of the pages, and will enjoy locating the various "emote-acorns" throughout the book-acorns with different expressions. VERDICT Another easy reader hit for Willems. Fans of "Elephant & Piggie" will enjoy the author's trademark humor and format and embrace these new squirrely friends.-Ramarie Beaver, Plano Public Library System, TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Willems hands the reins of this new early reader series to fifteen cartoony squirrels, a yellow bird (a.k.a. Flappy Squirrel), and a couple of joke-telling acorns. The series is a step up in complexity from the Elephant Piggie books and geared toward more independent readers. The nutty characters are introduced on the front endpapers, though keeping track of everyone isnt critical to enjoying the antics. The BIG Story! stars Zoom Squirrel, whose pals go Amelia Bedelia on their buddy when they hear Zoom has lost a tooth: WE WILL FIND YOUR TOOTH! Upon learning it was a baby tooth, the amateur-hour detectives break out into over-the-top hysteria: Poor baby! All alone!It must be hungry! Willemss familiar cleanly designedif here more populatedspreads set the characters and their color-coded speech-balloon chatter on solid-bordered white backgrounds. Six shorter sections follow the story, including twelve pages devoted to squirrel Research Rodent, who offers a few factual nuggets about human and squirrel teeth, and Fur Real, which is emceed by game-show host Quiz Squirrel and serves up more bite-size information. Three interspersed acorn-y jokes are presented by a couple of easily amused acorns; emote-acorns show up when the Squirrels have BIG feelings! Theres a lot packed into the lively pages, but most app-savvy kids will be accustomed to the visual stimulation. kitty Flynn (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A cast of squirrels investigates a missing tooth in this off-the-wall series opener from Willems.When lisping Zoom Squirrel reveals that they lost their tooth, the other squirrels work themselves into a frenzy. A tooth? All alone? Oh no! The rodent collective asks for clues and declares it their mission to find Zoom Squirrel's tooth. As the others' grand search takes them near and far (albeit in the wrong directions), Zoom Squirrel finds their tooth without help. Or did the tooth find Zoom Squirrel? This reader, a level up in complexity from Elephant Piggie, offers a similar formula but with a longer page count and a larger cast of cartoony characters. Willems' signature use of color-coded speech bubbles helps readers recognize speakers amid the increased amount of dialogue. Willems also breaks out of his early-reader mold with the inclusion of backmatter (tooth facts, silly jokes, and a quiz) and a table of contents. While the amusing backmatter effectively blends elements of nonfiction, the slim table of contents comes off as extraneous since the bulk of the story is uninterrupted by chapters. Similarly, Willems' use of "emote-acorns" to alert readers "when the Squirrels have BIG feelings" is a unique tool for encouraging social-emotional development but questionably effective. Elephant Piggie sure are a tough act to follow, but readers will more than likely want to squirrel these new friends away with equal fervor. (Early reader. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
