GOOD KNIGHT

Rymill captures a nearly universal domestic ritual in her picture-book debut: the nightly struggle to get a reluctant child into bed. A young fire chief complains vociferously as he's stripped of his gear and urged into the tub, protests again when he's removed in the midst of a sea battle, dried (""No. Don't get the pink towel. Admirals don't USE pink.""), handed his pajamas (""But it's not that time!""), and sent to his castle/bedroom. He tries to duck away from a kiss after he's tucked in, but finally succumbs to the inevitable, asking for a bedtime story and telling his mother he loves her. The short, rhymed text appears in varied sizes and weights on Karas's full-spread paintings; the child, with his stubby body stubbornly tilted against the visual flow, moves in and out of imaginary worlds that are depicted with dramatic colors and strong, jagged lines.