The Nocturnals are now available to a younger audience in this level-3 beginning reader. Sugar glider Bismark is bored, and his friends Dawn the fox and Tobin the pangolin try to help him have some fun, with little success. But when Karina the kinkajou arrives, she convinces the band of buddies to follow her on an adventure to find sparkle sprites (fireflies). Bismark thinks Karina is kooky because she thinks the weeping willow is a waterfall and the stone path is a raging river, but the other nocturnal friends understand that Karina is pretending as they track down the sparkle sprites. Eventually, Bismark sheds his grumpy demeanor, lets loose, and begins to use his imagination, like Karina does. Divided into five short chapters, this gentle adventure supports newly independent readers with engaging color illustrations, textual repetition, and ample white space to cushion its sentences. Helpful back matter includes "Fun Facts" about each of the characters, a glossary for new vocabulary, and information on the free resources available on the publisher's website.

Bismark again finds himself on the outside as a new nocturnal animal introduces herself to his group.The sugar glider is bored. Dawn, a red fox, says he just needs to use his imagination. As if on cue, Karina the kinkajou arrives. Bismark doesn't appreciate her vibrant imagination. He calls both her and her "sparkle sprites" (aka fireflies) "kooky," later saying she is "full of ballyhoo" and telling her, "I think you are cuckoo." This comes after the trio of friends has followed Karina over a stone-path "river," under a weeping-willow "waterfall," and past a tree-trunk "rainbow" on the way to a "sparkle sprite spectacular." Tobin the pangolin gleefully joins in with the imaginative fun, Bismark remains skeptical, and Dawn, a sage look on her face, seems to take the role of adult. After Bismark's furious outburst, Karina hugs him, explains "We're just finding fun things to do!" and then "flies" across a "canyon." Tobin and Dawn follow, and Bismark has to choose between being "a little kooky, too," or being bored alone. Yee's animation-inspired illustrations do little to extend the tale other than overportraying Bismark's bad attitude and anger. Backmatter includes factual information about each of the nocturnal animals and a glossary of "kooky words." Unfortunately, there is no mention of mental health, bullying, or the hurtful nature of the words Bismark uses.Imagination can surely overcome boredom, but the unkindness in this book isn't imaginary. (Early reader. 6-8)

Gr 1-3 -Bismark, a sugar glider, is bored. When his friends fail to convince him that there is always more to see and do, a new friend appears. Karina, a kinkajou, attempts to engage them all in some imaginative play and quickly wins over Bismark's friends. Bismark, however, remains nonplussed and calls Karina "cuckoo" and "kooky." It takes a hug and an explanation to persuade Bismark that it can be fun to be a little silly. He never apologizes; he simply says it's fun to be with Karina. Illustrations are large with multiple spreads and a color palette that is well suited to a story about nocturnal animals. However, the writing feels stilted and didactic and the text layout does not always seem to be related to the illustrations. Sometimes text is centered on the page. Other times, text is aligned left or right. The right alignment could make tracking difficult for readers transitioning into longer stories. Readers able to read at a second to third grade level but still wanting illustrations will be better served by Kate DiCamillo's "Mercy Watson" books or Fran Manushkin's "Katie Woo" or "Pedro" series. VERDICT Purchase where the series has a following.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA