Sploot: Two Squirrels, One Mission: Stay Cool!

K-Gr 2–This offers up two overheated squirrels that need to find a way to cool off, so search their surroundings for the perfect place to sploot. Readers who think that the sploot is a humorous made-up term will find out in the helpful back matter that splooting is an observable reaction to exposure to heat when animals spread their limbs and “plop their bellies down on a cool surface.” The squirrels try splooting in a mud puddle, but it’s too yucky. The birdbath is empty. Cartoonlike scenes full of color and humor hold plenty of context to assist young readers in further enjoying the story; they show the two cute but hot squirrels, a sweating sun, and a farm full of other creatures dealing with the heat while perplexed by the frantic squirrels’ doings. When the heat-stressed pair finally find the ideal splooting location, readers will laugh out loud at the resolution. The text is suitable, with the help of the illustrations, for transitional readers. The back matter is informative and includes photographs of splooting squirrels; the book can be paired with nonfiction works on animal behavior.