PETE THE CAT AND THE BEDTIME BLUES

After a fun-filled day at the beach, Pete and his friends decide to continue the fun with a sleepover, but if they can’t sleep, will it still be fun?

Gus, Alligator, and Toad join Pete at his house, and it’s all fun and games until the lights go out for bedtime. “Clap! Clap! Clap!” Toad doesn’t want to sleep—he wants to clap. Another round of good nights and the lights go out. “Rat-a-tat-tat!” Gus wants to jam. And then, “Munch! Munch! Munch!” Alligator is hungry. What can Pete do to get a little shut-eye? Maybe his favorite bedtime book holds the answer. As in the rest of the tales featuring Pete, the characters are heavy-lidded and expressionless. Even a day surfing at the beach and a sleepover with friends can’t elicit smiles from this group. And Pete, though readers assume that he’s increasingly frustrated with his noisy friends, never bats an eyelash or expresses his feelings. Words like “gang,” “groovy,” “far-out,” and “cool cat” try too hard to appeal to Beat Generation wannabes.

Much better books about not being able to sleep abound—skip these bedtime blues.