The Best Burp: The Nocturnals (Grow & Read Early Reader, Level 1) by Tracey Hecht, Josie Yee

This one is going to be a big hit with the boys.  It's a burping contest!

Fabled Films Press sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It's already been published, so you can get a copy now.

Bismark and Bink both burped and thought theirs was biggest and best.  Tobin suggests a contest.  They both burp loudly.  It's hard to tell who burped loudest but they woke Dawn up.  When she asks about the noise they point at each other trying to shift the blame.  Dawn tells them blaming others isn't how to be your best self.

This is a beginning reader chapter book.  It's a short, complete tale that teaches a lesson.  These are great for reading aloud.  Let the children take turns.  You could even have sound effects if you let them burp...

The Kooky Kinkajou (Nocturnals Early Reader ) by Tracey Hecht

Dawn, Bismark and Tobin are bored until Karina shows up.  She's a bit kooky and sees a "sparkle sprite" that she wants to follow.  They follow her and soon find if they are using their imaginations, they are not bored!

Fabled Films Press sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

This is written for grades 2-3 when they can read independently.  In this story you see how full of himself Bismark is.  He's the best and the smartest and she's just kooky.  But when he sees her magic, he changes his tune.  He's the friend with an attitude, but he's fun to have around.

The Tasty Treat (Nocturnals Early Reader) by Tracey Hecht, Josie Yee (Illustrator)

This series is fun.  It introduces you to different animals (some not seen stateside).  This is part of their Grow & Read series written for first graders.  It's very basic and easy to read but it's still an enjoyable read.

Fabled Film Press sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published so you can grab a copy now.

Dawn, the fox, is on the hunt for her pals.  Bismark the sugar glider comes down out of a tree, and she finds Tobin the pangolin in a bush.  She wants to share a pomelo with them.  She invites them to have a picnic with her and shares the snack with them.  They love the fresh fruit of the pomelo.

They'll get to meet the animals and get introduced to their personalities.  I love this series.

The Chestnut Challenge by Tracey Hecht

They are playing a game a lot like checkers and just having fun.  When one of them declares himself champion, a chinchilla comes out of the bushes to challenge the winner.  They play but the chinchilla distracts everyone...

Fabled Films Press sent me a copy of this book to read and review (thank you).  It has just been published, so you can get a copy now.  I love this series.  The Nocturnals always have message for the young ones.

While everybody is looking away, he moves the chestnuts so he has good plays.  When he's challenged on the placement of the chestnuts, he cries and admits he is no champion, he's a cheat.  He expects them to reject him but you'll be surprised by what they do next. 

Josie Yee's artwork is cool.  Tracey's message is a good one for children.  These stories are always good and this is suitable for Grades 1&2.

The Peculiar Possum: The Nocturnals (Grow & Read Early Reader, Level 2) by Tracey Hecht (Author), Josie Yee (Illustrator)

Bismark, as fussy and loud-mouthed as usual, has something new to complain about.  Someone is eating his pomelos!

Fabled films sent me an an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).  It will be published October 30th.

What's worse?  There's some funny looking animal stealing them!

Bismark doesn't want to get to know him.  He thinks he's funny looking, odd in general, and not worth his time.  Dawn tries to convince him to give the animal a chance.  Since the animal is almost as proud as Bismark, it's a challenge.  But he finally listens to the possum and learns about another animal in the forest.

Now you can learn about him, too.

The Hidden Kingdom: The Nocturnals Book 4 by Tracey Hecht (Goodreads Author), Sarah Fieber (Goodreads Author), Kate Liebman (Illustrations)

The Nocturnal team is back again and on another unusual adventure.   They are having a drought and when they go to look for water, they find the pond that's always there has been drained.  Who took all the water?

Fabled Film Press sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  The book has been published and you can grab a copy now.

I like this series.  Where else do you find pangolin as a major character?  The flying squirrel annoys me, but I love Dawn, the red fox.  They are always learning something new and when they do, you learn it, too.

As they search for the missing water, they find that there are tumbleweeds, moving bark, odd noises, and more going on.  Is the earth changing?  Even the trough the water had run through disappears on them.  They persist in their hunt, though.  And what they find is amazing.  They find that they had the answer in front of them during the whole search...

The Slithery Shakedown by Tracey Hecht

This is part of the Grow & Read series for children.  There is limited text, lots of graphics and an easy to read storyline.  I like it; it's a great way to introduce a child to reading.

Fabled Films sent me an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).  It will be published April 3rd.

Bismark is waiting for his buddies to show up for their night prowling.  He always acts like he's fearless but he's not.  When he hears the bushes start rattling he gets nervous.  It's his friends, there's nothing to be nervous about.  But the next visitor is not so tame...

A snake slithers out of the bush and thinks the Bismark looks good enough to eat.  He talks big but he's small.  Luckily the other two are there.  When the snake leaves, he even leaves them a present.

This one will make you smile.  I don't even like snakes but I did like the ending a lot!

The Moonlight Meeting: The Nocturnals by Tracey Hecht, Rumur Dowling, Waymond Singleton

I've read several Nocturnal books now and they are enjoyable.  This is a beginning reader and it's even more fun to read!

Fabled Films sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

I like this series because it doesn't have the usual dogs or cats in it.  There's a pangolin, a sugar glider, and a fox.  Singleton's illustrations are great and give you a good idea of what the real animal looks liked.

In this story, a pomelo has fallen from the tree and Tobin, the pangolin, finds it.  He's looking forward to eating it when he's challenged by Bismark, a loud sugar glider.  Whenever a pangolin gets surprised or frightened, he lets air out that smells awful.  That's always good for giggles.

When Bismark comes down and tells Tobin he's a thief, it's his pomelo, there's a stand-off.  Then Dawn, the fox, shows up.  She listens to their story, then cuts the pomelo into thirds and they each have a portion.  She's the smartest and sanest animal in this group.  You can tell she's wise from her decision how to solve this problem.

This was a delightful read with great illustrations.  The story will make your young ones smile and they'll learn more about the animals with the bonus facts at the end.

The Fallen Star (The Nocturnals #3) by Tracey Hecht

As they watch the falling stars and admire the beautiful light show, they notice that one is coming down towards them.  When it hits the earth, they don't believe what happens!

Fabled Films sent me an ARC of this book for review (thank you).  It will be published May 5th.

They meet an aye-aye named Iris who spouts off about danger and how they need to know her secrets.  They're not even sure if she's friendly and maintain their distance.  When they don't respond like she wants them to, she takes off.

As usual, Bismark is being important.  Dawn is really the brains of the group.  Tobin is just along for the ride.  When they notice mounds of dirt everywhere, they wonder what's going on.  As they attempt to find it, it gets more dangerous along the way.

The fruit they eat has been poisoned.  The only thing that will offset the poison is a blue flower that only grows in certain locations.  As they try to find the flowers, which are rapidly disappearing as someone steals them, they run into evil lemurs and scorpions that want to hurt them.  It soon becomes apparent that Iris is behind this.

While Iris has her own plans, Tobin ate a bit of the fruit and he has gas, bad gas.  This is best thing that could have happened.  Tobin is their secret weapon...

I have to say that at times the main characters remind me of the The Three Stooges, but they manage to save the day despite that.  Here's a fun, way-out adventure for young readers that will make them laugh.

The Ominous Eye: The Nocturnals Book 2 by Tracey Hecht, Kate Liebman

The Nocturnal Brigade has a new quest:  To stop the deadly beast who is trying to take over their land.  When they meet a strange new animal that has a third eye and says she can see the future through it, they're not sure what to do...

Fabled Films Press and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 20th.

The fox is cool, the pangolin could use a bit more self-confidence, and the flying squirrel has an elephant sized ego!  He's always going to save everybody.  When danger shows up, you don't see him anymore.  He's in love with the fox and is always complimenting her and making a nuisance of himself.  But when he meets this new animal, he's flirting with her.  He's silly!

There's an earth movement with ashfall and the Brigade doesn't know what is happening.  They do find a big hole that they check out and it looks like there's a huge beast in there.  The new animal tells them that they must evacuate the area because that beast is coming and he wants it all for his own.  She acts a bit shifty and she wants all the birds gone.  The kiwis can stay because they don't fly.

The fox follows her and finds out that she visits a tower.  The new animal has a secret, but what is it?

There's lot of action, new creatures to learn about, and conflicts everywhere.  You'll be glad to know that everything settles down by the end of the story.  I wonder what their next adventure will be?

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions by Tracey Hecht, Kate Liebman (Illustrated by)

It all starts as a hunt for missing animals.  The hunters are all nocturnal and they band together to search for a missing wombat and some kiwis.  What they find is a real surprise...

Fabled Films Press and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 19th.

Dawn is a smart fox, Tobin is a pangolin and Bismark is a sugar glider.  They form the core of searchers but they add more as they go along.

This is written for middle graders and is a bit nonsensical but it's fun to read.  The animals have been taken captive by a crocodile who is determined to teach his friends how to play hockey so he can get his family back from the coachers.

When Dawn and her friends are captured, she works on a plan to win the tournament and ensure their freedom.  

The crocodile changes his mind constantly, the game is a real challenge because they've had no practice, and the animal interaction is amusing.  There are traitors, animals with huge egos, and desperate characters involved.

This was different from what I expected (playing hockey with kiwi bird beaks and a tarantula puck?) but it was interesting and entertaining.  It's also a good way to learn about the animals of Australia.