""Bird?
Bird!"
"Is everything all right, Squirrel?"
"NO
IT'S
NOT!
Last night it was LIGHT
when I was brushing my teeth,
but tonight it was DARK.
Someone has TAKEN the sun!
A SUN THIEF!""
In this book in the THIEF series, Squirrel is facing confusion over the changing of the seasons. What is happening? When Bird calls bedtime, Squirrel argues that Bird is wrong. It's still light outside and there is no way that will allow sleep. In fact, that is exactly what happens. Days pass. Bedtime comes and Squirrel is brushing his teeth when he realizes how dark it now is outside. The sun usually stays up late in the summer.
Off he scampers to Bird's house in a panic that it's dark, when once it was light. Squirrel is again convinced that someone has stolen the sun! Bird explains that it a natural thing to happen as the summer comes to an end. He allays his friend's worry with the assurance that the sun will be back in the morning. Indeed, it is and Squirrel relaxes. Squirrel responds to the changes as the days grow shorter with fear of new noises and the encroaching dark. Poor Bird must constantly reassure his friend. It takes a lot of convincing; Squirrel finally accepts that his friend is right and the sun will always come up in the morning ... except when it rains!
This is the fourth in a series of books about friendship and misunderstandings. Bird is patient; Squirrel not so. There really are no thieves out there looking to steal leaves, flowers, or snow, as each of the four books proves. Engaging dialogue, colorful and expressive illustrations make this a book that works as a read aloud for young children. The book ends with a double spread to explain the way the Earth moves and what happens as it does. It introduces the concept of nocturnal animals such as the bat, compared to Squirrel and Bird who are diurnal.
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