NORTON'S NIGHTTIME

Raccoon Norton is alone in the dark, and lost and frightened; and he finds, by trying them out, that other animals' solutions don't work for him. (But why would he expect hanging upside-down like Possum to help him anyway?) Then the others--his friends Possum, Porcupine, and Rabbit--turn up, confessing that his noises have scared them just as theirs had scared him; and all four agree that ""there's nothing to be afraid of, because we're all friends."" Zalben's soft, nighttime pictures do make the dark seem comfortable and friendly, but just putting a common childhood fear in animal clothing doesn't make a story.