The franchise eebee's Adventures turns its Sesame Street–inspired puppet loose as he tries—and often fails—to corral the adorable tots around him.
Eebee, with his goldenrod face, mismatched limbs and purple hair (which is adorned with colored tips), barters with babies for one of the rarest commodities of all: sleep. He interacts with an ethnically diverse crew to promote bedtime routines. The tots respond with their own formidable agendas, advocating riding a scooter (helmet included) or playing with a ball until quiet activities slowly settle them down. In a classic role reversal, eebee and the babes switch interests, and they must nudge him along the route to bed. The question-and-response set-up imitates realistic toddler and parent communication, baby talk included. “Ready for sleep-sleep?” / “No. Ready for brush-brush!” Weighty type in varying shades of blues stands out against the clean backgrounds. Staged poses lack a natural fluidity but perfectly hit the interactive banter. A companion, Clean-up Time, utilizes thick flaps to extend the visual perspective, encouraging structured organizational time—and manners, too—in one teachable, fell swoop.
Overall, a light look into the art of negotiation for the toddling set. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
