NICKY AND THE BIG, BAD WOLVES

Gorbachev’s nighttime tale, with its warm, Richard Scarry—like illustrations, has an undeniably familiar feel to it: The demons of the night are sent packing by a loving parent. Nicky, tucked in among his four rabbit siblings, has a nightmare: Wolves are after him. First he believes he dreamed of a hundred wolves, but gentle queries from his mother make him reconsider his numbers. “A hundred wolves?” said Mother. “Are you sure?” She soothes him, but as soon as she douses the light, the wolves are back, wholesale, for each and every little rabbit. Their chorus of “Help!” sends her outside with a broom, where she vanquishes the wolf pack permanently, then promptly hops into bed with her children. Sweet dreams, and welcome to the family bed. (Picture book. 4-7)