SQUIRREL’S WORLD
by Lisa Moser & illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Bridging the turf between easy readers and beginning chapter books, this story stars a very squirrelly squirrel fond of declarations in triplicate: “Got to go. Got to go. Got to go, go, go!” Squirrel’s well-meaning overcompensation results in a windfall of food for Mouse, a lively (if one-sided) game with sleepy Turtle and plenty of splashy cheerleading for Rabbit’s efforts to snag a lily-pad umbrella from the pond. Gorbachev’s appealing watercolors provide the right touches for Moser’s wry text, depicting Squirrel’s manic activity in a plethora of amusing spots. This kinesthetic trip through Squirrel’s “good, good, good day,” less predictable than most easy-reader fare, will charm and challenge emergent readers—and the critter’s final-page snooze should satisfy on several levels. (Fiction. 5-7)