A young child restlessly awaits the arrival of sleep. Perched in her bed, Tabitha surveys her room and the myriad stuffed animals strewn across every surface. In her imagination, her beloved toys become animate, beseeching her to share sleeping quarters with them. From the murky depths of the whale’s seabed to towering heights of an eagle’s nest, Tabitha contemplates the resting-places of various animals. They describe their favorite napping spots in playful singsong rhymes. “ ‘Come slither to sleep where it’s dark and it’s deep’ whispered the snake.” Tabitha eagerly pretends to be a rabbit or seal, etc., envisioning her bed as a burrow, sea-drenched rocks, and more. DeVries balances Tabitha’s fanciful musings with pragmatic reality; a burrow is full of dirt, rocks are uncomfortable to sleep on, and so forth. Sleep eventually arrives in the form of a cuddly companion, with Tabitha’s gray cat snuggling into bed with the drowsy child. The watercolor illustrations are gracefully executed, artfully capturing both the luminescent beauty of the young child and offering stunning images of the different wildlife. Tabitha’s bedroom is a swirl of twilight-colored hues; soothing sapphires blend with brighter periwinkles, creating the dappled shadows from which her ingenious imaginings emerge. An engaging blend of whimsy and thoughtful reflection, this tale convincingly assures sleep-wary tots that their cozy beds are just the spot for them. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-55143-193-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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