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TEN IN THE BED

A natural fit for storytime or one-on-one bedtime sharing.

Guile gives the traditional, infectious counting song about rolling out of bed new life in this die-cut delight.

Sturdy L-shaped pages—each one a little bigger than the last—stagger to create a terraced effect, making the two rows of animals asleep in the bed seem to pop off the pages. The characters in this version are adorable stuffed animals, including a crocodile, giraffe, horse, pig, cat, duck, monkey, rabbit, bear and mouse. They roll out of the bed one by one (with sound effects—the pig says “OINK, OINK, OOPS!” and the bear “GRR, GRR, BUMP!” for instance) until only the mouse is left, looking small and fragile against the expanse of the empty bed. The text reads: “There was ONE in the bed, / and the little one said, / ‘I’m lonely! I’m lonely!’ ” The final page shows all the animals back in the bed with the little mouse snuggled right in the middle and offers a happy ending for everyone: “So they all climbed in / and snuggled up tight. / Good night! Good night!” Toddlers and preschoolers dig this repetitive count-down ditty, and they will love it even more in this engaging format.

A natural fit for storytime or one-on-one bedtime sharing. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-58925-618-7

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014

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KISSES AND CUDDLES

A sweet read that will lull many a reader into slumberland.

A young penguin spends a day with mama.

A little penguin has lots to love. The fluffy tyke loves eating pancakes and drinking hot chocolate, finding rainbows, and reading stories. But more than anything the chick loves the kisses and cuddles bestowed by mama, especially the ones that come right before bed. This board book works best as a stealthy bedtime book, recounting the small penguin's big day before wrapping up at bedtime, making a pillow and blanket mixed with goodnight kisses look like the best things in the world. The soft, round illustrations and increasingly warm color palette go a long way toward lulling even the most excitable little ones into a state of ease, making this an almost essential addition to the bedtime storybook stack. The book's cuddly nature is doubled by the choice to make its main character a penguin. After all, who doesn't want to hug a fluffy penguin?

A sweet read that will lull many a reader into slumberland. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4998-0151-4

Page Count: 16

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

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BALL

From the Baby Unplugged series

A sweet but not essential book.

A whole host of children presents a whole host of balls in this new installment in the Baby Unplugged series.

There are so many kinds of balls in this little board book. Big ball, shiny ball, game ball, plain ball, spot ball. And not all are necessarily balls. Some are round objects, like the snowball and the clay ball or the blueberry that is a “tiny ball.” Some balls are verb balls, like the “throw ball, / catch ball, / go ball, / fetch ball!” There is even a gotcha! ball that’s “not ball”—it’s a cube! And all these balls are being played with by an equally eclectic group of children. African-American, Asian, brown-skinned, and blond and brunette white children are all represented here in illustrations that are charming and clear but not particularly artful. It feels as though both author and illustrator are trying so hard to include so much that they’ve almost forgotten to have fun. It’s reminiscent of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish but without the spark that turns an OK book into a timeless classic. Best suited for young children who are already quite verbal.

A sweet but not essential book. (Board book. 2-3)

Pub Date: April 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-936669-42-4

Page Count: 14

Publisher: blue manatee press

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

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