Browsing the beginning chapter books: Fox Tails: The great bunk bed battle by Tina Kugler

Genre: Humor

Protagonists: Animals, male and female

Reading Level: G

Series: Three titles, part of the Acorn imprint

Review: Tina Kugler, author of the silly and popular Snail and Worm easy readers, has her own mini Acorn series featuring a pair of sibling foxes and their hijinks.

Fox siblings Fritz and Franny, and their dog Fred, need to go to bed. At least, their parent thinks so. They have other ideas. Once they're finally in bed, Franny in the (purple) top bunk and Fritz in the (orange) bottom bunk, the fun doesn't end... because now they're arguing about whose bed is best!

They imagine their bed as a castle, volcano, forest... but the fun quickly ends when their parent, looking even more exhausted, appears to order them to sleep, now! They're not done yet though - they decide to switch bunks. However, they quickly discover that while they love their own bunks, they don't love switching! The beds are too hot, too cold, too high, too low. Fortunately for them, they find the perfect bed where all three of them, including Fred the dog, can sleep comfortably.

While the parents are not definitely identified, the adult gray fox, matching Fritz, wears green pajamas and makes one brief appearance, reading the kids a bedtime story - and looking on helplessly when they turn it into a dance party. The adult red fox, matching Franny, wears a blue bathrobe and purple slippers and is present throughout, telling the kits it's time for bed, shooing them along, and coming back in, with increasing circles under their eyes, to tell them to quiet down and go back to sleep. It's pretty clearly implied that the gray fox is the dad and the red fox the mom - so one might want to know why all the bedtime rituals, not to mention discipline, are up to her!

Kugler's pictures are bright and cartoonish with cute little details, like acorns and paws carved onto the bunk bed. Franny and Fritz have long, sharp snouts and caregivers will appreciate watching their mom's patience diminish as the story continues.

Verdict: A funny addition to the Acorn line, although not necessarily a required purchase.

Revisited: Kugler's Snail and Worm are more popular titles, although if you have readers working their way through all the Acorn titles, it's nice to have these as well.

ISBN: 9781338561678; Published September 2020 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library