Sydney & Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World (Sydney & Taylor)

by Jacqueline Davies (Author) Deborah Hocking (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Sydney & Taylor

Best-selling author Jacqueline Davies tells the story of two unlikely friends: Sydney and Taylor, a skunk and a hedgehog who strike out to discover the great unknown, despite how afraid they are of it. Charming full-color illustrations and a laugh-out-loud story make this chapter book perfect for fans of the Mercy Watson and Owl Diaries series.

Sydney is a skunk and Taylor is a hedgehog, but no matter how odd the pairing may seem, their friendship comes naturally. They live happily in their cozy burrow . . . until the day Taylor gets his Big Idea to go see the Whole Wide World. From mountains taller than a hundred hedgehogs, valleys wider than a thousand skunks, to the dangers that lie in the human world, Sydney and Taylor wanted to see it all. With a map and a dream, they bravely set off, soon discovering that the world is much bigger than they realized . . .

Select format:
Paperback
$6.99

More books in the series - See All

Other series you might like

Publishers Weekly

This genial series opener by Davies (Panda Pants) introduces two friends who inhabit a cozy burrow under a potting shed: Taylor, a hedgehog with big ideas, and Sydney, a contented skunk. When Taylor gets a notion to see the Whole Wide World, contrary to the animals' homebody natures, the friends set off, encountering challenges en route. These include their own poor map-reading skills, a ferocious dog, and frogs--dressed in old-fashioned bathing suits and straw boaters--who refuse to be hunted (" 'Hunt what?' asked another frog. 'Well... you, ' said Taylor, who was a very honest hedgehog"). Gouache and colored-pencil illustrations by Hocking (the Max Explains Everything series) render the companions as sweetly expressive creatures who share their richly imagined environment with snails and insects. Although the friends' dynamic is fairly one-sided, with Sydney alternately encouraging and pushing the anxious Taylor to follow through with the desired expedition, Taylor's perseverance (and readers') is rewarded with the satisfaction of a completed journey, a return to home's comforts, and the suggestion that a story of adventure might be a treasure equaling the adventure itself. Ages 6-9. (Feb.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

★ "With a nod to The Wind in the Willows... Davies sends an odd-couple pair of animal burrow mates out to explore the "whole wide world."—Booklist, STARRED review

"An enduring friendship wins the day in this chapter-book adventure."—Kirkus
Jacqueline Davies
Jacqueline Davies is the talented writer of several novels and picture books, including The Lemonade War series and The Boy Who Drew Birds. She lives in Needham, Massachusetts. jacquelinedavies.net.

Deborah Hocking has illustrated many books including Max Explains Everything: Grocery Store Expert. She lives in Portland, Oregon. deborahhockingillustration.com
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780358106319
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
February 02, 2021
Series
Sydney & Taylor
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV002160 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Mammals
JUV045000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Chapter Books
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Voyages and travels
Hedgehogs
Best friends
Skunks

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!