MAMA'S PAJAMAS

Two very lucky children have a crafty mother who makes pajamas most children can only dream of.

Two blond, white children—a brother-and-sister duo to judge by hairstyle conventions—wear pajamas created by their mother, and what pajamas they are! Their mama has made them to look like a green dragon, a red fox, a blue elephant, a yellow lion, a brown bear, a sparkling, purple fairy, pink and white bunnies, an orange kangaroo, and white sheep. Each night they choose what they want to be. As they parade the different pajamas in front of readers, each outfit has a touch-and-feel element, though there is not much variety to the textures. The dragon pajamas have “green, bumpy scales”; the red fox pajamas sport a “soft, bushy tail”; and though the elephant pajamas are supposed to be “wrinkly” and “rough,” in reality the texture is just slightly bumpy. The only pajamas without a touch-and-feel element are the kangaroo ones, which instead have a flap that, when opened, reveals a pouch for the younger brother. Predictably, the white sheep pajamas are cuddly and cozy and make the children feel sleepy. As with so many of its ilk, the book seems geared for maximum saccharinity, with little to offer beyond the cute jammies.

Sweet and insipid.