Mike Allegra – Mom Read It

Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles, by Mike Allegra/Illustrated by Jaimie Whitbread, (Oct. 2022, Page Street Kids), $18.99, ISBN: 9781645675594

Ages 4-8

The rainforest is alive with squeaks and squawks, grunts, grows, and hisses, until the day a cheerful capybara shows up and introduces cuddles to all the animals. Some animals aren’t so sure about the full-on cuddle: turtle’s worried it will make their shell less tough, and hugs make green iguana uncomfortable, but capybara assures everyone that a cuddle can take whatever form makes you comfortable: it’s just about being together! One animal after another FLOOFS along with the capybara, making the rainforest a friendlier, cuddlier place than ever before. Cheerful storytelling illustrates the power of a hug while reassuring readers who may be uncomfortable with full-on contact that cuddles can take whatever form makes them feel happy, secure, and loved. An author’s note touches on the book’s inspiration (Capybaras really do FLOOF!), and endapapers reveal a lush rainforest setting. Pleasant cartoony animals are cute and will appeal to readers; shades of yellow, green, and brown give the artwork an earthy feel. This will make a good readaloud for preschool and kindergarten classrooms, when kids are still learning their boundaries, and the boundaries that others feel comfortable with.

Visit the Sleepy Happy Capy Cuddles book detail page on Page Street Kids’s website to download a free activity kit, complete with capy facts and an activity on consent.

Scampers Thinks Like a Scientist, by Mike Allegra/Illustrated by Elizabeth Zechel, (March 2019, Dawn Publications), $8.95, ISBN: 9781584696438

Ages 4-8

Scampers is a curious little mouse who wants to know what it will take to get a menacing-looking owl out of the vegetable garden, so he and the other mice can go back to getting food. With the help of Scampers’s friend, Nibbles, the two proceed to conduct a few experiments, including waving a rag doll and making noise that will startle the owl, and building an egg catapault to scare it off. No reaction. (Have you guessed yet?) When Scampers and Nibbles figure out the owl’s secret, they let their fellow mice know: the owl isn’t real! Will the mice believe their two scientists?

Scampers Thinks Like a Scientist is an adorable, abbreviated introduction to an scientific method. Scampers has a theory about the mouse, so she conducts some tests, considers her conclusion, and shares her results. The tests are amusing and let caregivers and educators work with readers to reason out the conclusion. It’s a cute way to introduce scientific thinking to younger readers, and publisher Dawn Publications has a free, downloadable companion activities for kids. Add this one to your science storytime.