20. Lone Wolf Goes to School

 

20. Lone Wolf Goes to School. Kiah Thomas. Illustrated by K-Fai Steele. 2024. 56 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, early chapter book, animal fantasy] 

First sentence: Wolf could count his friends on one hand. Three, two, one...NONE! And that was the way he liked it. Wolf ate alone. Rode his bike alone. Played tennis alone. But there were some places that Wolf couldn't be alone.

Lone Wolf Goes To School stars a LONE WOLF who is set in his ways. Throughout the chapter book, Lone Wolf is given plenty of opportunities to change his ways, to welcome the world, to have his heart grow 'three sizes too big.' Yet time and time again, Lone Wolf prefers to stay true to himself--a loner. There's a scene that seems almost predictable. You would naturally expect in a children's book especially that the 'lesson' or the 'moral' or the 'point' of the story would be to show Lone Wolf making friends, of learning to enjoy being around others, etc. But the author is playing with audience expectations. (If not expectations of children then expectations of adults. HENCE why it is so funny.) Buster Keaton explained this best when talking about gags: "I always want the audience to out-guess me but then I double cross them."

LONE Wolf Goes to School was clever and funny. I highly recommend.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

75. Bear and Bird The Picnic and Other Stories

Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories. Jarvis. 2023. 64 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Ding-dong! Bear and Bird had a big day planned. Bird was early. "I'll be out in a minute," shouted Bear from his big bed. "I haven't just woken up. I promise!" 

Premise/plot: Bear and Bird is the first in a new early chapter book series. Bear and Bird are friends--dear, close friends. However, Bear and Bird have many differences. These short chapters, short stories, are interconnected--loosely. The first two stories are definitely closely related. 

The stories/chapters are: "The Flower," "The Picnic," "The Painting," "The Blanket."

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, loved this book. The writing  is WONDERFUL. 

Quotes:

This is from "The Flower" chapter:

"Sorry I'm late!" said Bear. "I thought my feet would move quicker than they did."

This is from the "Picnic" chapter:

"Have you used the bathroom?" said Bird.
"Yes," said Bear.
Bear had not used the bathroom.
"Did you pack the music player?" said Bird.
"Yes," said Bear.
Bear had not packed the music player.
"And the lawn chairs?" said Bird.
"Yes," said Bear.
No lawn chairs either.
"And most importantly--have you packed the picnic?" said Bird.
There was a bit of a pause before Bear said, "Yes, I've packed the picnic."
Bear had not packed the picnic.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Young Readers

325-326. Two Early Readers

325. Best Buddies: A Pie for Us (An Acorn Book) Vicky Fang. Illustrated by Luisa Leal. 2023. [October 17] 48 pages. [Source: Library] [Early reader; early graphic novel]

First sentence: This is Sniff. Hello. Woof! This is Scratch. Nice to meet you! Meow! They are best buddies. Well, sometimes.

Premise/plot: There are three stories in this early reader. There are color coded speech bubbles. Young readers will always be able to know who is speaking. 

The three stories are "The Pie," "The Box," and "The Thing."  In the first story, these two decide to team up to out-best their human(s). Can working together help them in reaching the goal--getting the PIE. In the second story, "The Box," Scratch LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the box. Sniff is less certain of the box, or the appeal of the box. But how does the box really feel about Scratch??? In the third story, Scratch and Sniff discover a new "thing." It is a mirror. How will these two respond to their mirror-second-selves????

My thoughts: This one was a DELIGHT. I absolutely loved it. It is definitely an early reader. Simple and basic in many ways. Yet there is humor in the stories. I think the book and series will prove appealing to those just learning to read. Definitely recommend for classroom purchase in addition to school and public libraries.

 

326. Best Buddies: Save the Duck (An Acorn Book) Vicky Fang. Illustrated by Luisa Leal. [December 2023] 48 pages. [Source: Library] [Early reader; early graphic novel]

First sentence: This is Sniff. Hi. Woof! This is Scratch. Hello! Meow! They are best buddies. Well, sometimes.

Premise/plot: There are three stories in this early reader.  There are color coded speech bubbles. Young readers will always be able to know who is speaking. 

The three stories are "The Roll," "The Tail," and "The Toy." In the first story, Scratch and Sniff get into trouble with their human(s) when they play with the toilet paper! In the second story, Scratch and Sniff enjoy chasing each other's tails. In the third story, these two argue over a toy duck....

My thoughts: I enjoyed both books. This is the second book in the series. There will be a third book coming in another month or two. All should be 2024 Cybils eligible. I absolutely LOVED this one. I thought the story about the toilet paper was hilarious. All six stories I've read so far (three in each book) have been great fun. Definitely recommended to parents, teachers, and librarians.

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

252-253. Pizza My Heart

252. Norma and Belly #3: Pizza My Heart. Mika Song. 2022. 96 pages. [Source: Library] [Early chapter book; graphic novel]

First sentence:  So, Norma, what's for lunch? 
Well, our choices are: acorn soup, acorn bread, acorn pie, tacos, or acorn salad.
Tacos.
Acorn tacos.
Oh.

Premise/plot: This is the third book in this squirrel food graphic novel series for young readers. The first two books are Donut Feed the Squirrels and Apple of My Pie. Norma and Belly are two of many food-obsessed squirrels we meet in this series. In this one, misadventures [and adventures] center around PIZZA. Will the squirrels get to eat some pizza?

My thoughts: I like the series. Each book seems to center on a different food. All seem to be humorous misadventures. I am an overthinker--which I've mentioned before. I do wish these squirrels looked more like squirrels. But I enjoy their food-obsession and their silliness.

253. One Smart Cookie (Norma and Belly #4). 2023. [August] 112 pages. [Source: Library] [early chapter book; graphic novel]

First sentence: This is the spot, Belly.
This is where you buried the acorns, Norma?
Yes.

Premise/plot: This one stars a lot of squirrels: Norma, Belly, Little Bee, and Gramps. These are food-obsessed squirrels. In this one the squirrels are interested in fortune cookies and the fortune inside the fortune cookies. They want to write the fortunes inside! Will these squirrels be able to type up the messages? Will they get their hands on cookies?

My thoughts: This one may just be my favorite of the four I've read. Maybe. It was definitely silly and fun.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

30. Lily to the Rescue: Lost Little Leopard

Lost Little Leopard (Lily to the Rescue #5). W. Bruce Cameron. Illustrated by Jennifer L. Meyer. 2021. 144 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: I was playing in the backyard with my girl, Maggie Rose, and my friend friend Brewster. Well, Maggie Rose and I were playing. Brewster was watching. Watching is something Brewster does a lot. Napping is something he does even more. Maggie Rose is my girl, and I am her dog. We were playing my favorite game in the entire world, which is Give-Lily-a-Treat. But Maggie Rose ketp getting it wrong.

Premise/plot: Lily helps a lost little [Amur] leopard in this installment of Lily to the Rescue. Lily proves herself essential or vital to the leopard's well-being. What will happen when the leopard finds a new home/sanctuary/zoo??? Will Lily have to move with the leopard???

My thoughts: I love this series so much. I love reading the adventures and misadventures of this adorable, sweet, helpful dog. I love the family dynamics. I love the formula of this series. If you love one of these books, you'll love them all. (And I do love them all. Or at least all the ones I've read.)

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

214. Dog Squad

Dog Squad (Dog Squad #1) Chris Grabenstein. 2021. 336 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Nala, the world's bravest and boldest border collie, bounded through the brambles.

Premise/plot: Fred, our dog-protagonist, loves, loves, loves to watch DOG SQUAD on television. But he never expected to be ON the show himself. He's nothing like Duke, the "star" of the show. He's not brave, fearless, daring, amazing. He's so absolutely ordinary. But when he's rescued off the streets--after having been abandoned by his owner (it's a longer story than this summary would imply)--he gets a chance to do just that. Can he be the "star" of Dog Squad??? 

My thoughts: What a fun animal fantasy Dog Squad makes!!! I enjoyed many--though not all--of the characters in this one. I liked seeing Fred make friends. I loved seeing Fred in action. He really gets a chance to be a hero--multiple times--in real life. The book was interesting and entertaining. I could see younger readers really enjoying this one. Dog Squad feels a bit like Paw Patrol.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

181. Our Friend Hedgehog: A Place to Call Home

Our Friend Hedgehog: A Place to Call Home. Lauren Castillo. 2022. [October 18] 80 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Between the great forests, in the center of the river, on a teeny-tiny island, lived two dear friends: Hedgehog and Mutty. 

Premise/plot: Our Friend Hedgehog: A Place to Call Home is the follow up to Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us. The first book established the characters [and setting]. The second book explores the meaning of home, family, and belonging. Hedgehog, our heroine, is super-excited about winter. She is excited to build a hedgehog out of snow, to have snowball fights, to play with her newfound friends. But an unexpected encounter with another hedgehog has her rethinking her life. Does she belong with her found-family of friends? Or does she belong with others of her kind? Should she feel more a sense of belonging with other hedgehogs? 

My thoughts: I really am enjoying this series very much. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the illustrations. The characters are well done. I wouldn't mind a couple more books in this series. I'm sure the love will only increase the more adventures we have. I love how her friends come together to help, support, and encourage. Slowly but surely other characters are being explored as the adventures increase.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

131. Captain Pug

Captain Pug (Adventures of Pug #1) Laura James. 2017. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It was an ordinary morning at No. 10, The Crescent, and everyone was busy except Pug and his freckled companion, Lady Miranda, who were both still in bed, snoring. 

Premise/plot: Pug is extremely food-motivated. Which leads to some trouble in this his first adventure--or misadventure. Lady Miranda (his owner) is invited to a birthday party. Of course Pug goes along. (As do her footmen in case there's any hard labor (or easy labor for that matter)). But when Pug is distracted by food in a picnic basket, well, his troubles begin...for he soon finds himself on a tourist bus far away from Lady Miranda...his only hope (according to Pug's logic) is to become a famous enough sea captain that Lady Miranda hears of him and comes to his rescue. (He's been dressed up as a captain). Will these two ever be reunited?

My thoughts: Pug has so many misadventures. I wasn't really worried about Pug until I realized I only had two or maybe three pages before THE END and these two were still far, far apart. The ending is so rushed. Readers do spend more time with Pug than Lady Miranda, which may be a good thing? But Pug is adorable as you could reasonably predict.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers