B IS FOR BEDTIME

Name: B IS FOR BEDTIME
Author: Margaret Hamilton
ISBN: 978-1-61067-368-6

by Margaret Hamilton ; illustrated by Anna Pignataro ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2015

There are plenty of other bedtime stories that do not offer this potential confusion; seek them out for nighttime and save...

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Babies and bedtime go hand in hand. Add an alphabet with cuddly illustrations on sturdy pages, and you have a book ready-made for lap sharing.

A little girl labels and describes each of the letters. The letters and most of the rhyming text appear on the verso with small vignettes, while full-page illustrations unfold a small story on the recto. “Cc for the Clock that tick-tocks on the wall. / Dd is my Dog, who’s not sleepy at all.” The brown-and-white dog appears next to the letters and then again opposite, tugging at the end of the girl’s blanket, while an analog clock appears on the wall above. For the more difficult letters, “Qq is for Quiet,” “Xx for relaX,” and “Yy is for Yawn, and I’m ready to sleep. / All hushed until morning, you won’t hear a peep. / Zz Z…z…z…z….” The droopy-eared dog steals the show, and the little, red-cheeked Caucasian girl’s interaction with it adds playfulness to the bedtime buildup. Despite the book’s overall appeal, there are some out-of-sync blips. In the vignettes next to each letter, the dog poses with an unnamed object that also begins with that letter, which offers extra identification fun but may also cause confusion. Next to K, the dog peeks out from what many readers may identify as a doghouse but may be a “Kiosk,” and next to N, the pup appears snout to snout with what looks like a stuffed lamb (perhaps “Nuzzling” it?).

There are plenty of other bedtime stories that do not offer this potential confusion; seek them out for nighttime and save this for a brainteaser. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-61067-368-6

Page Count: 30

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

- BOOK REVIEW
COUNTING THROUGH THE DAY
by Margaret Hamilton ; illustrated by Anna Pignataro

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Awards & Accolades

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14

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

DRAGONS LOVE TACOS

From the Dragons Love Tacos series

by Adam Rubin & illustrated by Daniel Salmieri ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2012

A wandering effort, happy but pointless.

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Awards & Accolades

Likes

14

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.

Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.

A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 14, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES

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THE TRUTH ABOUT THE COUCH
by Adam Rubin ; illustrated by Liniers

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THE HUMAN KABOOM
by Adam Rubin

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THE ICE CREAM MACHINE
by Adam Rubin ; illustrated by Daniel Salmieri , Charles Santoso , Liniers , Emily Hughes , Nicole Miles & Seaerra Miller

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CHICKA CHICKA PEEP PEEP

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

by Julien Chung ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 20, 2026

A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale.

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The classic picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets a makeover for Easter as the letters of the alphabet locate and decorate eggs.

The mission is simple: “Chicka chicka peek peek. / Everybody seek seek! / Find all the eggs / in the pretty pink tree.” The letters are making their way up the flowering tree in search of the hidden eggs when a “SNEEZE!” scatters everyone and the eggs fall and crack. Luckily, a bunny hops by with a haul of new ones, which the letters then paint and bedazzle, eventually sharing the newly decorated eggs with a group of bunnies. This picture book is a successfully Easter-fied version of the original: The letters go up; the letters fall down. Truly, though, that’s all the preschool crowd needs. Chung’s illustrations are simple and familiar, a direct echo of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The letters appear in colorful, bold, block form. The book has few added details, just focal images like the tree and its pink flowers, the colorful eggs, tufts of grass, and some friendly rabbits. The alphabet appears in order (both upper- and lowercase letters) at the book’s open and close. The rhyming text follows the iconic cadence of the source material, making for a worthy read-aloud that will keep little hands turning pages.

A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale. (Picture book. 3-5)