A treat of a bedtime book.
Bently and Massini serve up rhyming verse and a bevy of animal friends to guide a little one through the bedtime routine, one “ingredient” at a time.
Although the front endpapers show a mother carrying baby upstairs, there are no parents in sight as a little blond child readies for bed in this decidedly sweet take on the goodnight story. Instead, animate toys provide snuggles and then take steps to “unwrap” (undress), “add to water” (bathe), and so on. Particularly delightful steps include having a toy elephant “add raspberries to tum and feet”; a bottle-feeding suffices for the step “and then add milk.” The baby at the center of all this nurturing is remarkably good-natured and calm, but the animals still return to check after tucking the child in, once again adding milk and singing, too. Their closing song sends baby drifting off to sleep, and then they cuddle up with the child in the crib. Massini’s soft illustrations include charming decorative detail in the setting and on the characters’ clothing while also providing ample visual space for the young readers who will examine the pages while listening to the rhyming verse.
A treat of a bedtime book. (Picture book. 0-3)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17625-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2015
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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