A Diller, A Dollar, A Midnight Scholar: Mouse's First Night at Moonlight School by Simon Puttock

THE NIGHT BELL WAS ABOUT TO RING AT MISS MOON'S MOONLIGHT SCHOOL, AND BAT AND CAT AND OWL WERE ALL ON THEIR WAY.

BUT SOMEBODY WAS MISSING....

Mouse is, well, as timid as a mouse, but she's not tardy. She's already inside Miss Moon's schoolroom, but she's shy and already concealed behind a curtain. Miss Moon calls the roll and catches the whispered sound of Mouse's "Here!" from her hiding place.

Kindly but witchy Miss Moon comes up with a break-the-ice game to suit all her students--hide-and-seek. It's just right for bat, who can echo-locate anyone; it's calming for cat, who is curious about the darkest corners, and it's a natural for Owl, who wisely chooses to perch behind a book in the bookcase.

But where is Mouse?

"MOUSE IS REALLY GOOD AT HIDING!" SAID MISS MOON.

"OH, DEAR! MOUSE'S MOTHER WILL BE UPSET...."

"TEE HEE!" GIGGLED MOUSE.

Mouse emerges, a proud winner of the game, from inside Miss Moon's tall black hat, and her first day, er, night fears are gone, in Simon Puttock's Mouse's First Night at Moonlight School (Nosy Crow Books, 2015). Feeling nervous on the first day of school is a common problem, even for creatures of the night, and Puttock's gentle text has the right tone for those students who just wish they could just be invisible on opening day. Ali Pye's nocturnal palette of grays and deep blues, accented by the yellow glow of lanterns and the full moon give this story a late-night setting that is barely scary and mostly cozy for her nighttime scholars.