One Smart Cookie
by Mika Song
Interest age: 6 to 9
Reading age: 6+
Published by Pushkin Children’s Books, 2025
About this book
Squirrels Norma, Belly and Little Bee have discovered a cookie factory. The cookies it makes are delicious! And they have bits of paper in them. Little Bee reads them out, and Gramps says they are fortunes. What if all the fortunes told the humans to give cookies to the squirrels? But how can they make this happen? It’s time for a plan!
This very funny graphic novel is perfectly pitched at young readers. The squirrels are fun characters, there’s a silly ninja scene, and everyone can relate to wanting an endless supply of cookies. The illustrations are bursting with energy, yet the layout of the pages feels uncluttered, with lots of white space. The story is told in speech bubbles, and short ones (in sentence case, not capitals), making the reading experience feel accessible to many readers.
This is part of a charming series, beginning with Donut Feed the Squirrels, and fans of Narwal and Jelly and Bumble and Snug will enjoy this, before moving on to slightly more complicated graphic novels such as Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey.
More books like this
-
Donut Feed the Squirrels
by Mika Song
5 to 9 years
-
Peanut Butter and Jelly (A Narwhal and Jelly Book)
by Ben Clanton
5 to 9 years
-
A Friend for Henry
by Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Mika Song
4 to 9 years
-
Astrosaurs: Mission to Infinity
by Steve Cole and Tobey Cole, illustrated by Alex Lopez
5 to 11 years
Lists of recommended reads
-
Graphic novels (comic-strip books) for beginner readers
Graphic novels, told in comic-strip style, are a brilliant way to introduce children to the fun of reading stories. The visual narrative is just as important to follow as the words. This selection is aimed at beginner readers, with minimal text and speech bubbles, but lots of funny action.
-
Great Books Guide 2025-26: 6 to 7-year-olds
Here’s a round-up of new children’s books from the last year, which we think any child aged 6 to 7 will love