"The animals have charm” —School Library Journal This adventure-filled Level 1 Nocturnals Early Reader grows confidence in reading with engaging illustrations and short sentences! Bismark the wacky sugar glider and Bink the cheerful bat are playing a game–who can burp the loudest! Tobin the sweet pangolin cheers for them. When Dawn the serious fox appears after hearing loud burps, Bismark and Bink blame Tobin for the noise! Dawn tells them the burps are natural and blaming others is not the best thing to do. Bonus Content includes Nocturnals Animal Glossary with Fun Facts! PERFECT FOR EARLY READERS AGES 4–5 (Preschool-1st Grade) Teachers and Librarians : add to your Transitional Book Collection! Level 1 books feature simple sentences and easy sight words - Teaches Life Skills : Respect for Others and Honesty. The 8-book Nocturnals Grow & Read Early Reader Collection encourages kids at all reading levels who like adventurous stories featuring nocturnal animals. K-Gr 2—The Nocturnals are Tobin the pangolin, Bismarck the sugar glider, and Dawn, the rather motherly red fox. They all wear blue scarves. Bink the bat does not. Bink is therefore not an official Nocturnal, and is, in fact, a bad influence. When Bink convinces Bismarck to have a burping contest, Tobin is peer-pressured into judging. The burping contest appears out of character for these well-mannered mammals. However, Dawn appears in the book's final chapter to advise the young ones that burping contests are rude. The story is divided into three simple chapters. The text is gently repetitive with words occasionally enlarged to show emphasis. Words like "burp" and "rumble" are presented in a large, stylized font. The yellow color of these words contrasts nicely with the predominantly gray and purple backgrounds. The animals have charm, but when they are presented either on a blank white background or in front of a dark forest, the effect is lackluster and fairly static. Artistic flourishes, like the moonlight reflecting off the purple leaves, add depth to otherwise flat scenes. VERDICT Recommended for collections where this growing series is already popular.—Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA “This latest entry in the Nocturnals series pairs short, spaced outlines of very simply worded, mildly alliterative narrative to cartoon scenes of hypercute wildlife with anthropomorphic features and oversized eyes in a multi-chapter episode that gently prods emergent readers to think outside the belch.” ― Booklist “The story is divided into three simple chapters. The text is gently repetitive with words occasionally enlarged to show emphasis... The animals have charm... Recommended for collections where this growing series is already popular. ― School Library Journal “Hecht successfully set the stage for more adventurous outings down the road...” ― Publishers Weekly “Very highly recommended for family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library collections.” ― Midwest Book Review “The series addresses bullying and empathy in an easy, accessible way, and the books are meant to be read aloud.” ― New York Post Tracey Hecht is a writer and the creative director of Fabled Films Press. She created The Nocturnals , the critically acclaimed middle-grade and early reader series. The American Booksellers Association chose her first book, The Mysterious Abductions , as a Kids’ Indie Next List pick, and her nonfiction book Nighttime Animals: Awesome Features & Surprising Adaptations received the Children’s Book Council Teacher Favorites Award in 2023. In partnership with the New York Public Library, she created a Read Aloud Writing Program that has since been conducted in hundreds of schools, libraries, and bookstores. She attends Bank Street College, where she is studying to receive a dual master’s degree in childhood general education and special education. Tracey splits her time between New York City and Oquossoc, Maine. Josie Yee is an award winning illustrator specializing in children's books. She lives in New York City with her daughter, Ana, and their cat, Dude.