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LITTLE MONKEY SAYS GOODNIGHT

Name: LITTLE MONKEY SAYS GOODNIGHT
Author: Ann Whitford Paul
ISBN: 0-374-34609-7

by Ann Whitford Paul & illustrated by David Walker ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2003

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Called to bed, Little Monkey won’t go until he says good night. “He scampers to the Big Top tent. ‘Come back,’ calls Papa. / But Little Monkey jumps / BOING! / into the Ringmaster’s spotlight. ‘Good night, Ringmaster.’ Ringmaster tips his tall top hat and sweeps Little Monkey / SWISH! / through the Poodle’s hoop. / ‘Good night, Poodle.’ ” One onomatopoetic leap follows another as Little Monkey bids good night to each performer. His rounds end in a swish with Mama on the trapeze followed by the excited clapping and cheering of the crowd. Finally, Papa tucks Little Monkey in with a good night of his very own. Paul (Silly Sadie, Silly Samuel, 2000, etc.) inspired by her own son’s need to wish everyone in the house good night, has written one of the noisiest bedtime stories ever. Debut children’s book illustrator Walker’s pudgy, smiling, energetic characters are rendered in soft yet bright pastel colors. Together they have created a perfect good-night read. The only drawback is that when listeners reach the end, they’ll ask to start again. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: April 7, 2003

ISBN: 0-374-34609-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
IF ANIMALS TRICK-OR-TREATED
by Ann Whitford Paul ; illustrated by David Walker

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO LOVES LITTLE LEMUR?
by Ann Whitford Paul ; illustrated by Jay Fleck

- BOOK REVIEW
IF ANIMALS GAVE THANKS
by Ann Whitford Paul ; illustrated by David Walker

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A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...

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A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.

As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CHESTER RACCOON AND THE ALMOST PERFECT SLEEPOVER
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

- BOOK REVIEW
KAI TO THE RESCUE!
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

- BOOK REVIEW
A COLOR GAME FOR CHESTER RACCOON
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

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ON THE FARM

by David Elliott & illustrated by Holly Meade ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2008

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Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)