GOOD NIGHT, GOOD NIGHT

A motley crew of Boynton critters get ready for bed aboard a boat in this picture book based on the beloved The Going to Bed Book, first published as a board book in 1982.

“The sun has set not long ago. // Now everybody goes below // to take a bath / in one big tub / with soap all over— / SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB!” In gently rhyming verse that generations of readers have committed to memory already, a hippo, a dog, a couple of rabbits, a pig, a moose, an elephant, and more take a bath, put on pajamas, and brush their teeth. Playfully (but slightly inexplicably right before bedtime), they head to the deck to exercise. The pacing has been stretched out so that scenes that once occupied one page now stretch out over double-page spreads. The main addition to the original book’s text is an interpolated scene in which the animals pile into bed and two rabbits sing a lullaby. Complete with lyrics and notation, the song is about many of the critters wallowing in the mud with the hippos. The bedtime routine ends with the menagerie being rocked to sleep in the arklike boat. Fans of The Going to Bed Book will note that very little is actually new, but it is a joy to see Boynton’s colorful characters and playful verse in a larger trim size. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gentle and playful bedtime voyage.