Squeak! by Laura McGee Kvasnosky and Kate Harvey McGee is a lovely, sweet and quiet story how one little squeak can cause a ruckus of enormous magnitude and a silly little mouse that started it all.
It is a cozy, quaint, snug and secure story. A mouse wakes early in the morning, its tiny squeak disturbs another animal, which in turn disturbs another and another as their squawks, squeaks, calls and cries go out across the once sleepy, now waking, forest. And takes a full circle right back to where we started.
Lush and stylish illustrations show the colors of pre-dawn, dawn and finally the day. Darker colors give way to lighter ones. Slowly you watch the stretches, skittering and splashing of each animal as they wake. Your toddler will enjoy finding the creatures of the forest and making the sounds along with them.
Among other works, Kvasnosky is the author of the Zelda and Ivy series. If you are a fan of those friends’ antics, this is probably not for you. This time, Squeak! is soft and almost a bedtime story, though it is about waking up (there is a little surprise about sleeping at the end). This is the perfect one-on-one reading time, or a group reading is also possible. A reader who is slightly more advanced (first to second grade) should be able to partake in solo reading (possibly with a bit of help, though).
Squeak! is the second collaboration of Kvasnosky and McGee. Little Wolf’s First Howling was their first.