SLEEPING CUTIE

Cutie LaRue is sweet as cream—until bedtime rolls around. Nothing makes Cutie sleep at night, and her temper tantrums at bedtime are a thing to behold. Her desperate parents buy a talking doll, Night Owl, guaranteed to sing a child to sleep. Cutie’s unimpressed by Night Owl, who, splendid in white top hat and tails, only says “sweet dreams” when its belly is pressed. But when her parents go to sleep, Night Owl leaps up and brings Cutie uptown to the Dreamland Nightclub, where they dance and sing all night with Cutie’s dolls. Cutie soft-shoes, plays the piano, and jams on the snare drums, before finally falling fast asleep. Cutie’s jazzy Nutcracker adventures make bedtime something to be looked forward to ever after. Nothing here on the level of some of the Pinkneys’ other work—the attractive, brightly colored ink illustrations emphasize sweetness over artistic richness—but the musical interlude adds a lively touch of nightclub excitement to this bedtime story. (Picture book. 2-5)