The Chestnut Challenge: The Nocturnals

Nocturnals Early Reader

by Tracey Hecht, Josie Yee (Illustrator)

“The Nocturnals does not disappoint.” —Booklist
“Parents/grandparents will enjoy reading this book to their little one.” —Story Monsters

The Chestnut Challenge is a Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold Recipient. In this Nocturnals Level 3 Early Reader, the Brigade are playing a game of Chestnut Checkers when Chandler, a conniving chinchilla, challenges Tobin for the title of Chestnut Champion. After a series of strange distractions, the Nocturnal Brigade begins to suspect that something is not right. Chandler is a competitive chinchilla... but could he also be a cheater?

FUN-FILLED BEGINNING READERS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING!
Download the series's complimentary printable activities at NocturnalsWorld.com: Sight Word Games, Makerspace Crafts, Bingo, Common Core Language Arts Educator Guide, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Activities, and More!

Includes Bonus Nocturnals Fun Facts and Animal Glossary (Ages 5-7)
Life Skill Themes include Good Sportsmanship, Playing Games for Fun, and Forgiveness.

Read All Eight of the Nocturnals Grow & Read Adventures, like The Kooky Kinkajou, which introduces Beginning Readers to Life Skill Themes such as Imagination and Accepting New Ideas.
They all feature Dawn, a serious fox, Tobin, a sweet pangolin, and Bismark, a pint-sized sugar glider.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Fiction, Childrens

64 pages, ebook

First published April 23, 2019

About the author

Tracey Hecht is a writer and entrepreneur who created The Nocturnals, the critically acclaimed middle grade and early reader series. The American Booksellers Association chose her first book, The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions, as a Kids’ Indie Next List pick. In addition, her Grow & Read early reader book, The Chestnut Challenge, was given a Mom’s Choice Gold Award. With the New York Public Library, she has also created a Read Aloud Writing Program that has since been conducted in over 150 schools, libraries, and bookstores. Tracey currently splits her time between New York City and Oquossoc, Maine, with her husband and four children.

Reviews

[Debra Slonek · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nocturnal Brigade returns with a new adventure and valuable lessons to be learned. On a beautiful night in the forest, Tobin, Bismark, and Dawn are enjoying a friendly game of Chestnut Checkers.

As Bismark was making quick decisions, Tobin took his time with each turn. They learned that impulsiveness and speed doesn’t trump careful thinking and patience.

As a cheeky chinchilla named Chandler challenged the Nocturnals to a game of Chestnut Checkers, many more lessons were learned. Chandler learned that cheating and lying were not OK and would not help him to win any new friends.

The Nocturnals learned that it is OK to play games just for fun and they learned that everyone, including a cheating chinchilla, deserved a second chance.

I enjoyed the colorful illustrations throughout the book and the friendships amongst the animals. A fun read with plenty of food for thought and ideas for meaningful discussions with any children in your lives. Well done!

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawn (the red fox), Tobin (a pangolin), and Bismark (a sugar glider) are the core cast of characters for the series. In this book they meet Chandler, the chinchilla. While the trio of friends are playing a game of Chestnut Challenge Chandler appears and claims to be the Chestnut Champion. He challenges sweet, passive Tobin to a game. Well, chirping chickadees”, Chandler cheats. Dawn, in her usual compassionate, diplomatic manner lets Chandler know that champions do not cheat and invites Chandler to play just for fun.

The personalities of the animals make the book so appealing. Dawn is quiet with a “take charge” personality and calm in a crisis, Tobin sweet and somewhat shy, and Bismark – oh Bismark! - boastful, flirtatious, hilarious, self-proclaimed “god amongst gliders”, yet lovable.

The Nocturnals series of books are educational and fun. This particular book is Level 3 which is for children in grades 2-3. At this point they are reading independently. The themes emphasized in this book are sportsmanship, forgiveness, and friendship. In the back of the book are fun facts on the characters met this book. The publisher also provides free downloadable exercises, crafts, and coloring pages.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book. The review is strictly my opinion.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the introduction of a new character to the Nocturnals gang. Chandler the chinchilla learns a lesson about winning and losing. Dawn, ever the calming leader, does bot judge or criticize but explains why cheating is never the best solution.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of The Nocturnals and their leveled reader series will easily recognize Dawn, Tobin, and Bismark. But who is this new character with them on the cover of the book? That is Chandler, a "conniving chinchilla." When he finds the friends playing Chestnut checkers, Chandler announces that he is the "real chestnut champion" and challenges Tobin to a game. The mild-mannered pangolin enjoys playing for fun, not competition. He reluctantly agrees to play this new acquaintance, but something underhanded is happening during the game. Will the Nocturnals figure out what is happening?

Each of these stories has a gentle lesson to learn about friendship, acceptance, or sportsmanship. Reading about the friends and their adventures is an entertaining way to learn how to get along with others. Who wouldn't be amused by Bismark's dramatic reactions? "Chirping chickadees!" he shouts when he loses the game. And after all his boasting, he is the one who points out that Chandler "seems a bit braggy." (Takes one to know one, right?) Dawn is always calm and gentle in her reminders about proper behavior, while Tobin truly just wants everyone to have a good time together.

Back matter includes facts about each animal, what it means to be nocturnal, and a description of chestnuts. There are also printable activities to download at growandread.com. If you haven't met these friends yet, be sure to check out the entire series - and there are chapter books for independent readers, too.

[Claire Noland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do a fox named Dawn, a pangolin named Tobin, and a sugar glider with an attitude named Bismark have in common? They are nocturnal animals who become great friends and share night time adventures. In The Chestnut Challenge, the Nocturnals, as they call themselves, are enjoying their game when they are interrupted by Chandler, a loud and pushy chinchilla.
Chandler challenges Tobin to a game. The pangolin is not competitive - he just likes to play for fun. But he's a good sport and agrees to a match. Unfortunately, Chandler is not a good sport - he cheats! When Chandler is caught in the act, he lies. The Nocturnals are firm but kind. After Chandler admits his wrong doing, they offer him a second chance as all good friends do.
The Chestnut Challenge presents a problem common to young children but not often addressed in books. Cheating hurts everyone and takes the fun out playing together. It is important for children to see examples of both good and poor sportsmanship as they learn navigate through today's competitive environments.
Fun facts about nocturnal animals are included in the back as well as links to activities. This is a well written book in a fun series featuring not only unusual animals but plots that are centered around friendship as well as problems children face and how to resolve them.

[Beverly Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Chestnut Challenge, the nocturnal trio of silly animals are off on a new adventure in their neck of the woods. While the friends are playing a game of chestnut checkers, they discover some new competition: Chandler the chinchilla. Chandler challenges Tobin the pangolin to a game to determine the true checkers champion. But it turns out that Chandler the chinchilla is nothing more than a checkers cheater. When Chandler is caught in the act, the friends are upset, but they offer the chinchilla grace and forgiveness for his mistake. All is well in the land of The Nocturnals and a second chance leads to a new friendship.


The Chestnut Challenge is a Level 3 Grow  and Read book that will appeal to children in Grades 2-3. The vocabulary is challenging, phonetic, and appropriate for the targeted audience. The book is educational and contains fun facts about the obscure animals that are featured in this light-hearted read. This is a great way to teach children about animals that they may not have heard of before. Also, the obvious highlight of this book is the lesson to be learned. Teaching children about moving on from mistakes is something that is essential and this book teaches that concept well. Children will learn character development while finding joy in the pages of this humorous read.

[Michelle Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teacher, I am always trying to encourage my students to develop good play skills. I find myself mediating arguments caused by children not playing nicely or cheating to win quite often, so I was very excited to read this book at storytime. We’ve read the Nocturnals before, so the children were familiar with the characters, and as always the fun illustrations grabbed their attention and kept them engaged in the reading. As I’d hoped, reading The Chestnut Challenge together was a great way to jumpstart a discussion about playing for fun and not getting upset or cheating when a game doesn’t go your way.

[Stacey Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My nephew and I read the book over the last two weekends. He is a big gamer and is always concerned about whether other kids are "playing fair" and about winning. The main character--Chandler the chinchilla who cheats at chestnuts is THAT kid that my nephew doesn't understand. As always The Nocturnals beginner reader books gave us a way to talk about the why! In this case we laughed at Chandler's antics to win the game and appreciated how earnest Tobin the pangolin was in trying to play fair and have fun. Another winner in the series for our family.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Level 3 Grow and Read book about friendship and sportsmanship. The illustrations are colorful and fun and the story is imaginative and fun. This book also includes fun facts about the nocturnals at the end. Some 2-3rd grade readers might find the fun facts section a little more difficult to read than the rest of the story. Overall, this is a fun read that I recommend. I give you a look inside the book here: https://readervacation.wordpress.com/....

[Carol Stephan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a children's book geared toward grades 2 to 3. The story is about a group of nocturnal animals playing a game of chestnuts. It imparts the lesson of fair play, how cheating is wrong, and games should be played for fun. A simple story with nice illustrations. Two added bonuses that I particularly liked are the fun facts about nocturnal animals at the end and the ability to download free printable games about nocturnal animals.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really sweet read! I enjoyed the story and thought the messaged was clear and well received! I loved the illustrations and thought they were super cute. I also thought it was nice that the last few pages included descriptions about the animals in the book, allowing for children to learn even more about the forest animals. I will definitely be reading this book to my younger cousin!

[Received this book through a goodreads giveaway]

[Jaymie · Rating 3 out of 5]

[I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

3.5 stars. Solid story with interesting core characters. I loved that the characters have clear personalities. Subject matter of this story is cheating. Solid message about second chances, playing for fun, and practicing to improve rather than cheat. I liked learning about some unusual nocturnal animals. I would definitely check out the rest of this series.

[Jennifer Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great read from The Nocturnals. I’m always looking for ways to encourage my two kids to play nicely, and this book was a perfect way to reinforce the idea that “playing fair” is more important than winning. I read this with my younger child, who is in second grade, and it gave us a space to talk about how you can have fun even if you aren’t winning, and how important it is to not get frustrated and try to cheat your way out of a loss.

[Ashley Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 4 year old and I loved this book!! I loved the animals. The characters were interesting to my son and so was the story. The illustrations were great.
I'd definitely recommend this for other family's to read.

[Cheryl Harrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Chestnut Challenge handles the topic of cheating with finesse and kindness. My four-year-old and I love the friendly characters and the drawings, and we especially enjoyed the descriptions of the animals at the back of the book.

(I received an advance review copy of this book.)

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids really enjoyed this and read it as one of their summer reading books. Even at 6 my youngest greatly enjoyed each characters strong personality and wit.
Now he wants me to order the others that this wonderful and talented author has made and I shall with great pleasure.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Higher level so your kids can grow with these characters. Deals with the theme to be a winner don't cheat and have fun when playing a game in a simple format

[ERIC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to read with your kid.. The imagery is very nice and the story teaches a good lesson. I am planning to buy more of these books for my son.

[Rita Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute book for children that teaches the importance of fair play. I will be giving this to my
great granddaughter for Christmas if not sooner.

[K-BRC · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE CHESTNUT CHALLENGE is a level III reader. I’d probably call it a Level II concepts and vocabulary. I wish more info were given on the habitats of the animals to develop more background. The illustrations were quite good. I would recommend for grades 1.5-2.5. The illustrations were fabulous with great animal expressions!

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book with an nice message.

[Doug Wauneka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was excellent. Grandchild loved it!

[Willa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've won a few children's book from Goodreads. I think this is the first one I really, truly enjoyed and I can't wait to give it to my granddaughter. This was an enjoyable story with a moral.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter really enjoyed this book. She struggled with some words but loved that it’s a chapter book. I thought the story was good.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice lessons for students here about competition and friendship.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good night time story for kids on how to get along.

[Bonnie Arriola · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fun way for early readers to be introduced to different critters, and learn a few facts about the world around them. Children and chestnuts learn from chandler that cheating is no fun!

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another wonderful adventure with our friends Bismark the sugar glider, Dawn the fox, Tobin the pangolin. In this book they meet a new friend Chandler the chinchilla, he claims to be the chestnut (checkers) champion, but after a rough start the friend come together and decide playing for fun is much better than playing for champions. I really like these book because besides meeting new animals you learn a lesson in a calm friendly way, and this is so helpful in such a angry world we live in today. These books also show diversity even though it is animal diversity it still shows inclusion of someone different than themselves. The illustration are soft and inviting, the story is one that won't be forgotten, and the activities in the back round out this book as a complete storytime.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my baby cousin the other day and I thought it was absolutely adorable! My cousin was fascinated by the pictures and the unusual animals, and the message of playing fair was definitely one that my cousin needed to hear. Overall, it’s a very entertaining book with an important message.