Small Readers: Unlimited Squirrels in I lost my tooth! by Mo Willems

Mo Willems is back with a new easy reader series, this one featuring a zany band of squirrels.The light blue endpapers introduce the squirrels - some regular squirrels in varying shades of brown and gray, named Zip, Zap, Zoom, and Zing. Others are a little kookier, like Quiz Squirrel with a dramatic swirl of orange hair and a green tie, Research Rodent in a labcoat, and Flappy Squirrel.

The story is divided up by a table of contents, although it doesn't specifically have chapters - some of the sections are only a page or two long. After the table of contents there's a page showing the "Emote-acorns" which show the squirrels' "big" emotions. The main story is about Zoom Squirrel, who has lost a tooth. This incites a dramatic reaction from the other squirrels, especially when they find out that it was a baby tooth. A lost baby tooth! All alone! They must help! Eventually, after much drama and a lot of exclamation marks, all is well but a few questions remain...

Fortunately, Research Rodent is there with all the answers! What are teeth made of? How many teeth do animals have? Once the questions have been answered, Quiz Squirrel has a quiz and there are some acorn-ey jokes mixed in as well.

Mo Willems' illustration style is instantly recognizable and kids will be delighted to find the pigeon popping up here and there as well. The squirrels look a lot like the mouse that showed up in one Elephant and Piggie story, My new friend is so fun. This book is definitely a step up from Elephant and Piggie though. While the text is still simple and bold, it incorporates a lot of more complex vocabulary and there are a lot more elements in play - multiple (very similar) characters, multiple speech balloons, jokes, nonfiction, and other interruptions to the story, as well as wordplay. This is a blue level, which is the highest level of easy reader, in our collection. I'd recommend it to kids who are transitioning to chapter books. One last interesting note - none of the squirrels are given genders. I'm hoping this is maintained in future books, or that they don't all turn out to be male!

Verdict: Anything Mo Willems does in his signature style is sure to be a hit; it may take some time for this new series to build momentum and it may not achieve the character recognition of Elephant and Piggie or the Pigeon, but it's sure to be popular with kids who enjoy other transitional easy reader/chapter book titles. I'll be using this in book club and recommending it to kids who are fans of Jump-into-chapters, Eaton's Andy, and similar titles.

ISBN: 9781368024570; Published October 2, 2018 by Disney-Hyperion; Purchased two copies for the library