ONCE UPON A TIME, THE END

A very quick retelling of many nursery classics is the result when a tired father attempts to get his child to sleep faster by skipping a few words here and there. The Three Little Pigs suddenly become just two, while Little Red Riding Hood becomes a staccato poem: “Small girl / Red hood / Big wolf / In the woods.” Hints from father to child abound, until most of the endings turn out to be slumber-related: “Is there a pea under your bed? Then what’s your excuse? Go to bed.” Making no headway, he shortens even further and steps up the hints—the old lady in the shoe sold her kids to the zoo when they wouldn’t go to bed. Meanwhile, Blitt’s illustrations must keep up with the furious pace. His simple watercolors in subdued colors manage to pack a lot of plot into a small space without seeming too busy. Readers leave the duo face down on the bed making Zzzz’s, while books with their pages cut in half litter the room. Plenty of laughs for all those children who beg for “just one more story” before bed—and a great chuckle for their parents. (Picture book. 4-8)