A witty bedtime tale—and proof that even gods need a bit of divine intervention to get a good night’s sleep.
The god of the sun may be done for the day, but bedtime isn’t possible until the god of sleep can be found.
“It’s just about time / To retire for the night” for deities everywhere, but “where in the world is the god of sleep?” Without her soporific influence, the god of the seas keeps swimming, “the god of fate is choosing. / The god of games is losing. / But till the god of sleep shows up, / There won’t be any snoozing.” Wandering through water, ice, space, and time, the sun god still “doesn’t do much finding.” After exploring every scenario, the sun god’s just about resigned to “staying-up-all-nighting.” But wait! The god of sleep finally appears to complete her slumberous nighttime ritual before ensuring that all the gods “are fast asleep and dreaming.” Bestselling author Grossman’s picture-book debut is a riotously entertaining collaboration with Vietnamese artist Huỳnh. Grossman writes in clever rhyming bursts—combining satyrs, equators, and dusty craters—about all manner of unique gods, including “that mystifying yawn god,” not to be confused with “the mystery god [who] solves cases.” Huỳnh affectingly melds elements from Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s work, manga, and anime while also incorporating Disney-fied Tinkerbells and even detailed realism—all in full Technicolor. The final spread captures the cast in all their deific diversity.
A witty bedtime tale—and proof that even gods need a bit of divine intervention to get a good night’s sleep. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780316570961
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience.
The How to Catch A… crew try for Comet.
Having already failed to nab a Halloween witch, the Easter Bunny, a turkey, a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and over a dozen other iconic trophies in previous episodes of this bestselling series, one would think the racially diverse gaggle of children in Elkerton’s moonlit, wintry scenes would be flagging…but no, here they lay out snares ranging from a loop of garland to an igloo baited with reindeer moss to an enticing candy cane maze, all in hopes of snagging one of Santa’s reindeer while he’s busy delivering presents. Infused with pop culture–based Christmas cheer (“Now I’ve already seen the shelf with the elf”), Comet prances past the traps until it’s time to gather up the kids, most of whom look terrified, for a group snapshot with the other reindeer and then climb back into harness: “This was a great stop but a few million to go / Christmas Eve must continue with style!” Though festive, the verse feels trite and unlikely to entice youngsters. A sprinkling of “True Facts About Reindeer” (“They live in the tundra, where they have friends like the arctic bunny”) wrap up this celebration of the predatory spirit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 9781728276137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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