ABC ANIMALS

This not particularly soporific bedtime romp features 49 different kinds of animals modeling nearly as many different personalities and rituals as they prepare to settle down: “Baby giraffe washed her fuzzy mane / while gorilla stuffed toothbrushes down the drain,” and so on. Rendering her creatures in brightly colored, naturalistic paper collage, Moffatt drapes each with a few leaves, toys or items of clothing on a big purple letter of the alphabet, all printed on a stiff page shaped like the letter. The entire menagerie makes a final appearance—snuggled into an enormous bed or nestled down on a tree branch behind—on a closing foldout. Another high-energy nighttime read, along the lines of Peggy Rathmann’s 10 Minutes till Bedtime (1998). (Picture book. 3-5)