ELLIOT’S NOISY NIGHT

The plush moose gets past another common domestic challenge in this seventh outing in the industry known as Elliot (Elliot Gets Stuck, not reviewed, etc.). Here, bedtime’s approach triggers anxiety over nighttime noises, but once Elliot realizes that with careful listening he can identify each one—the fridge, the furnace, a loose shutter—and getting to sleep becomes much easier. Until, that is, he hears a mysterious shuffling—which turns out to herald the arrival of Socks, Paisley, and other anxious housemates concerned about the noises they hear. Since Beck portrays everyone here as a realistically depicted plush toy with button eyes, and closes with a final view of peaceful sleepers snuggled together, this makes a cozy alternative to Carman’s What’s That Noise? (p. 802) or the shelf full of other takes on the theme. (Picture book. 5-7)