BEDTIME FOR ALBIE

A story for readers who want to go hog-wild at bedtime.

Albie, a young warthog, should be getting ready for bed, but he wants to play. Before his mother can corral him, the little oinker is off with a “skippety trot trit trot” in an effort to find evening playmates. Along the way he encounters various savanna animals, including cheetahs, elephants, and meerkats, but each group is engaged in bedtime-related activities and cannot play. After wandering for a bit, Albie eventually makes his way home for bed and a final surprise. While the theme treads familiar ground, the page turns provide opportunities for caregivers to engage young listeners, and the watercolor-and–colored pencil illustrations have a pleasing, cartoonlike simplicity. Visual grace notes include a worm peering into the meerkats’ burrow along with a number of attentive insects who watch Albie’s progress. It’s a book that can be enjoyed both from a lap and in a moderately sized storytime. While tidbits about the habits of the various species Albie encounters are folded into the simple text, it’s too bad there’s no backmatter that buttresses these for curious readers. That quibble aside, the book will be a winner at pajama storytime or before bed. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.4-by-21.2-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Readers will skippety trot trit trot after meeting Albie.