AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds
GENRE
Board Book
REVIEW
This is one of those books that is so completely delightful that one could never fully distill its magic into a review, but I will nonetheless try, in hopes that my words will encourage others to get Boynton's brief literary gem into the hands of their toddlers. As the story starts, we meet up with a hippo, a moose, a cat, and assorted other animal friends sailing along the ocean in their little ship. It's bedtime on board, and we join the animals in their nightly routine, including a group bubble bath, comical teeth brushing, and moonlit exercise. As the story ends, Boynton closes with these last few cozy lines: "The day is done. They say goodnight, and somebody turns off the light. The moon is high. The sea is deep. They rock and rock and rock to sleep." The rhyming text and repetition of verbs combine to impart a musical quality when reading this story aloud. Rounded cartoon drawings add an infectious humor to the tale, be they of an elephant with a determined gaze as he jumps rope, or of a dog with a joyful little smile as he slides down a bannister. A highly recommended book which toddlers will want you to read aloud again and again.
LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
During toddler storytime, a picture book version of this book could be read aloud and paired with the following rhyme. This was a childhood favorite of mine which I made my dad sing to me at least twice each bedtime -- the book's last scene immediately called to mind the second stanza:
GOOD NIGHT, LADIES
(change "ladies" to "gentlemen", "kiddos", etc. as appropriate)
Good night, ladies.
Good night, ladies.
Good night, ladies.
We have to leave you now.
Merrily we roll along,
roll along,
roll along.
Merrily we roll along,
o'er the deep blue sea.
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