BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A nighttime thunderstorm results in a crowded bed when a little boy welcomes his pets to snuggle up with him and his teddy bear in this cumulative, rhyming story that is reminiscent of The Napping House but falters a bit in its pacing.

As the storm begins, the boy is reading his book when his dog jumps into bed for some comfort as the thunder booms outside. Then a kitten, a guinea pig, a frog, a parrot and even a snake cram themselves into the boy’s tiny bed. There’s clearly no room when the boy’s sister demands to clamber in as well, and despite her brother’s protestations, she “jump[s] in with elbows flying,” and the bed breaks. In a rather abrupt ending, the other characters all disperse without notice, and the boy snuggles into his broken bed with only his teddy bear and book as the moon and stars shine in a clear night’s sky outside of the window. The quickness of the page turn from the bed breaking to this resolution throws off the pacing of the story, and the curious absence of any parents or other adult caregivers in the story may give some children who are familiar with fears about thunderstorms pause, despite the sweet softness and gentle palette of the illustrations.

A good but not great good-night picture book.