Squeak!

by Laura McGee Kvasnosky, Kate Harvey McGee (Illustrator)

Overview

Who knew that one little noise could set off a whole cacophony? In this chain-reaction story, the animal world wakes up with a squeak!

Early one morning, a gentle breeze tickles the ear of a small mouse, and he wakes up with a squeak! That squeak wakes up the some chipmunks, who rattle tree branches and knock pinecones into the river. Those pinecones wake the trout, who splash around and wake up an elk on the riverbank.

And so goes the story of Squeak!, a chain-reaction story set in a beautiful, rolling landscape with animals who are all woken up one by one with the rising of the sun. With lush and vivid art, and plenty of fun animal noises on each page, this story is a perfect read-aloud to wake up to—or to read any time of day.

Praise for Squeak!:

* "The text is melodic and vivid [and] a joy to read aloud . . . A surefire hit for storytime, one-on-one reading, and gift giving." —Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*

*"This adorable circular story for young readers is a great way to start or end the day with a little humor." —SLJ, *STARRED REVIEW*

"A delightful, onomatopoeic introduction to the interactive sounds of awakening animals." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525518150
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/27/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	659,656
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Laura McGee Kvasnosky (www.lmkbooks.com) grew up in Northern California. She is the author of the Zelda and Ivy books, one of which won dual Golden Kite Honors Awards in 1999 from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and the American Library Association's 2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award as America's most distinguished book for beginning readers published that year. Along with Kate Harvey McGee, she is also the author of Little Wolf's First Howling, which won the Margaret Wise Brown Honor Book Award for children's literature text. Laura lives in Seattle.

Kate Harvey McGee is a celebrated fine artist who specializes in pastel landscapes. Her work has been exhibited widely in the Pacific Northwest. Little Wolf's First Howling, which she illustrated with Laura McGee Kvasnosky, was her first children's book. Kate lives in Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Squeak!:

* "The text is melodic and vivid [and] a joy to read aloud . . . A surefire hit for storytime, one-on-one reading, and gift giving." —Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW*

*"This adorable circular story for young readers is a great way to start or end the day with a little humor." —SLJ, *STARRED REVIEW*

"A delightful, onomatopoeic introduction to the interactive sounds of awakening animals." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2019

PreS-Gr 1—Early one morning, under the periwinkle sky of dawn, a soft breeze causes a young mouse to awaken with a squeak.The squeak stirs the chipmunks, who then surprise the trout. The splashing of the trout wakes an elk who bumps the tree of an eagle. The flap of eagle wings awakens the bear cubs whose chatter alerts a pack of wolves. Their howls echo to the cliffs of the bighorn sheep, whose movement causes rocks to tumble to the fields of the enormous bison. All of this commotion awakens the rest of the animals in the valley and a cacophony of sounds ensues. Little mouse is confused by all of the noise and sleepily wonders why everyone is up so early before happily drifting back off to sleep. This adorable circular story for young readers is a great way to start or end the day with a little humor. The pattern of cause and effect will intrigue young listeners and they will eagerly wonder what will happen next. The diversity of animals is robust and the onomatopoeia of their animal sounds is enjoyable and fun to say aloud. The many shades of blue and green expertly depict the early morning landscape of the beautiful mountainous region. The vocabulary used in the text is rich and will expose early readers to new words. VERDICT A lively read-aloud story about a tiny mouse that causes a big stir.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

2019-04-28
A mouse inadvertently ignites an early-morning chain reaction.

As a breeze tickles his ear, a small mouse wakes with a wee "SQUEAK," disturbing chipmunks in the branches above. Their chitter-chatter dislodges pine cones that "KERPLOP" into the river, prompting resting trout to leap with a "SPLISH" and a "SPLASH." This awakens a sleeping elk, whose antlers bump a cottonwood tree with a resounding "KA-BONK!" In response, an eagle nesting in the tree takes flight with a "WAH-WHOOOOSH," waking bear cubs in a cave, which causes their grumpy mother to "GRRRRRRR!" A nearby wolf pack joins in with yips and long, drawn-out howls, triggering a bighorn lamb to disturb loose rocks and gravel with a "RUMBLE BUMBLE BOOOOOOM!" An irritated bison bellows a loud "ARRRGRUMMMPHH!" Soon all creatures in the valley are awake and participating in a boisterous cacophony. Sprightly double-page spreads, realistically rendered with bold outlines of black gouache digitally colored in Photoshop, create the ideal backdrop for this unfolding medley. From the opening spread of the barely visible mouse asleep beneath a towering tree foregrounding a vista of river, meadow, and bluffs, each page turn artfully leads from one amusing event to the next, highlighting each animal in its habitat, while prominent placement of animal sounds in large font reinforces the auditory theme.

A delightful, onomatopoeic introduction to the interactive sounds of awakening animals. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews