The night of the chipmunk

Gr 2--4--A chihuahua named Ember the Mighty accompanies his human family, the Chins, on a vacation to Acorn Island in the sixth title in this series. Two other families and their pets--a frog named Sweet Pea, and a sheepdog named Izzy, accompany them. The Chin's other pets Neo (a canary) and Smelly Steve (a hamster), must stay behind with the pet sitter. Despite his plan to be a future dark overlord, Ember is nervous about the trip because the island is supposedly haunted by a giant evil chipmunk, the Monster of Acorn Island. As the families and their pets settle in, a series of mischievous behavior carried out by the Monster gets blamed on the dogs, who must come up with a plan to defeat the chipmunk. The plan? Ember must find a way to become just as scary! This series is a crowd pleaser with its endearingly earnest animal characters and gentle misadventures. This latest story explores feeling scared, acting bravely, and taking care our natural environment. Shiau Wei's friendly illustrations round out the appeal of this pitch-perfect early chapter book series. VERDICT Recommended for purchase where illustrated early chapter books are popular.

This new 96 pg. black-and-white Branches series has the humor of THE BAD GUYS, the pet antics of The Secret Life of Pets, and the wide range to appeal to kids of all ages, boys and girls.Will capture the fans of the bestselling series DIARY OF A PUG who are ready to read up.This series really has it all: laugh-out-loud humor, a loveable cast of pet characters, a new villain in every book, and cliffhanger endings that will have readers on the edge of their seats.Author Susan Tan is a rising star, whose work has been praised by Grace Lin and Rachel Renee Russell. Her debut chapter book, Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire , received a starred review from Booklist.Artist Wendy Tan Shiau Wei's s illustrations are cinematic, expressive, funny, and engaging, and really makes this book shine. Excerpted from The Night of the Chipmunk: A Branches Book All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.