Sydney and Taylor Take a Flying Leap by Deborah Hocking, Jacqueline Davies
Published by Clarion Books on August 3, 2021
ISBN: 0358106354
Pages: 80
Goodreads

Starting with the cover showing a happy, adorable skunk and hedgehog, this early chapter book, the second in the series, will definitely find its audience. Short chapters and full-page cheerful illustrations done in gouache and colored pencil capture the story of trying new things and sorting out the blips that come up in any friendship. Sydney the skunk and Taylor the hedgehog live together in a cozy burrow under Miss Nancy’s shed. When Taylor gets one of his “Big Ideas”, to fly, Sydney is not on board fearing his friend will get hurt; after all, a hedgehog is not supposed to fly. Although he uses some great adaptations he sees in nature (bird power, bat wings), Taylor does not manage to get himself airborne.  Sydney is not too helpful, which hurts Taylor’s feelings. However, when Sydney finally agrees to support Taylor in his endeavor, things go wrong and Taylor has to find another Big Idea to save his friend. With the right touches of humor and suspense, this title will keep emerging readers turning pages and clamoring for the next title in the series (due out February 2022).  Recommend for elementary school classroom libraries as well as emerging reader collections/early chapter book collections in public libraries.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth