Owly & Wormy: Bright Lights and Starry Nights!

In Owly and Wormy’s second picture book, the unlikely companions (who first starred in a series of comic books) search for a way to see the stars through their telescope. Mostly wordless graphic novel–style panels in deep violets and greens show the friends embarking on a camping trip to get a good view (Owly’s tree house has too many leafy obstructions and other problems). Runton’s streamlined storytelling has the friends speaking in rebuses and images instead of words; when Owly gets lost in the woods, his thought bubble—joined by a question mark—is filled with four arrows pointing different ways. Bravery, inventiveness, and friendship factor strongly in a clever nocturnal adventure that’s a pleasure to decode. Ages 3–7. (Nov.)