Boris and the Worrisome Wakies - Hardcover

Helen Lester has written many hilarious and popular picture books, including the Tacky the Penguin series and Hooway for Wodney Wat. She lives in New York.  www.helenlester.com
Lynn Munsinger has illustrated more than ninety books for children, many written by her frequent collaborator, Helen Lester. She lives in Vermont.

PreS-Gr 1—Boris cannot get with the badger schedule. Instead of sleeping all day, Boris is awake and squirming all about. Then, when it is time to get up and go to school, Boris is too tired to do anything. As Boris sleeps through school, the reader gets to see all the fun things he is missing out on, like gym, art, music, and lunch. After Boris's sleeping at school routine is set, his classmates and teacher quit trying to include him in their fun activities. After hearing about all the fun activities he is missing—like field day, the school play, and the class picture—Boris decides to get it together and sleep all day so he can learn and have fun at school all night. After a full day's sleep, Boris is a new badger, ready to participate in school. What a difference a good day's sleep makes. The art is beautiful, and the text is skillfully arranged around the drawings to help readers follow the action. This is a well-illustrated story, but much of the treatment of Boris by his schoolmates could be described as mean and mocking. While this eventually causes a change in Boris's behavior, the book shows a lot of mistreatment of the main character. VERDICT Schools sensitive to bullying messages may be wary of this book due to the taunting and teasing that happens when Boris is too tired to participate.—Nicole Detter-Smith, Homestead High School, IN