cover image Unlimited Squirrels: I Lost My Tooth!

Unlimited Squirrels: I Lost My Tooth!

Mo Willems. Hyperion, $12.99 (96p) ISBN 978-1-368-02457-0

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: [em]Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt Agency. (Oct.) [/em]