Sorrel and the Sleepover

Averiss (A Dot in the Snow) introduces two inseparable squirrels who like all of the same things in this winsome, playfully alliterative tale. When Sage invites Sorrel to sleep over, she’s impressed by her bestie’s lavish home in a sturdy tree whose sprawling branches accommodate her extended family. But the guest has a sleepless night, worried that her own “small and slim” tree house doesn’t measure up. Convinced that “best friends don’t have differences,” Sorrel makes up wild excuses for not returning Sage’s sleepover invitation, which Varley (Badger’s Parting Gifts) portrays with comedic hyperbole in pastel-hued, charmingly detailed pictures: Sorrel’s mother has turned green from eating a bad nut, two dozen visiting cousins have filled the abode with their belongings, and they’ve painted her house pink and the leaves are still wet. The collaborators creatively spin that last fib: when Sage at last spends the night, Sorrell’s cherry tree has blossomed, and Sage tells her host she’s “so lucky to be different,” since no one else she knows “sleeps in pink clouds.” This is a gentle celebration of similarities, differences, and friendship. Ages 4–7. [em](Aug.) [/em]