A sweetly simple bedtime book with a reassuring message.
A young child’s bedtime anxiety is quelled as familiar friends take turns saying goodnight.
Tucked in bed with a flashlight, Bob looks out the window to a crescent Moon, who smiles down and says, “Goodnight Bob.” Alone in the dark, Bob sees two round, white eyes glow, and when he shines his flashlight, Fish appears in his bowl and also says goodnight. This pattern repeats as each successive pair of white eyes in the dark turns into a cat, dog, mouse, Bigfoot (outside the window), and the stars in the night sky. The simple, predictable text will have children chiming in quickly: “Bob saw two eyes. / It was Dog. ‘Goodnight Bob,’ said Dog. / Bob saw two eyes. / It was Mouse. ‘Goodnight Bob,’ said Mouse.” Finally settled in and with eyes closed, Bob is asleep as the moon and stars give another goodbye and the footprints of Bigfoot recede down the path from the house. The simplicity of this repetitive story is accentuated by the primitive cartoonish pastel drawings in primary colors. Bob is a very young Charlie Brown–type figure with light skin, two dotted eyes, a circle nose, and four bristly lines for hair atop his very round head. Bold white text against a dark blue nocturnal background facilitates repeat reads.
A sweetly simple bedtime book with a reassuring message. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3003-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
A spooky house tour, unafraid to redefine what board books are capable of achieving.
Preschoolers, get ready for your first official ghost story.
“There is nobody in this house. There used to be somebody. But there is nobody now.” But is that true? As readers turn the pages of this board book, they pass through an array of rooms. In one, a ghost stands clearly to one side, the unseen narrator pointedly making no mention of it. As the narrative progressives, the ghost continues to peep from within (revealed through cleverly placed die-cuts), never acknowledged, always watching. The effect is both amusing and unnerving—in other words, classic Klassen. For some youngsters, the narrator’s refusal to mention the ghost will be a source of humor (and a chance to yell at the book). For others, it will be just the right amount of creepy, perhaps causing some to question whether a ghost truly is “nobody” at all. To set the mood, Klassen relies heavily on color; the first few rooms are brightly lit in the sun’s rays, but the home grows dimmer as readers proceed. Treating the book itself as a physical location begging to be explored (it’s even shaped like a house), Klassen extends the format beyond its usual limitations, allowing a short story of surprising depth to emerge.
A spooky house tour, unafraid to redefine what board books are capable of achieving. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781536248289
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
A bit of geometry and a bit of physiology add up to monstrous fun.
What do monsters of various shapes eat? Why, food of various shapes, of course!
Quirky red monsters with toothy mouths and made up of different shapes invite readers to figure out what they love to eat. Each left-hand page depicts a plate holding an assortment of food in different shapes set on a cheery checked tablecloth. Each right-hand page depicts a differently shaped monster. Children will soon figure out each monster has a preference for food of a matching shape. They can check their answers by lifting the flap on the monster’s tummy. The correct food items are shown inside the monsters’ stomachs with intestines going off into their nether parts. The usual suspects make an appearance: square, circle, triangle, and rectangle. But there is also a semicircle, a crescent, an oval, and even a heart-shaped monster. What differentiates this book from other shape books comes at the end. If children don’t know it already, they will soon find out that what goes in must also come out. “Yikes! Where is the Sausage Monster running in such a hurry?” As the Sausage Monster sits on the toilet, children can lift the flap on the side of the fixture to reveal—yes! Sausage-shaped poop.
A bit of geometry and a bit of physiology add up to monstrous fun. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-988-8341-40-5
Page Count: 22
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
