The Moonlight Meeting

First in a spin-off series of the Nocturnals middle grade novels, this banter-filled early reader describes the initial meeting between shy Tobin the pangolin, brash Bismark the sugar glider, and kindhearted Dawn the fox. An argument over ownership of a pomelo that Tobin discovers while snuffling around at night brings the three creatures together, and the pared-down narration and dialogue quickly establish their personalities, as does Singleton’s cartoon artwork, which shows the characters striking expressive poses midconflict. The plot is relatively scant—it takes the animals a while just to share their names with each other, let alone do much else—but Hecht and Dowling successfully set the stage for more adventurous outings down the road. Closing notes provide additional details about the animals (and explain what a pomelo is). Ages 5–7. (Sept.)