AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year olds
GENRE
Picture book
REVIEW
In this rollicking and rhyming bedtime counting story, a young boy meets two winged snakes, four witches, six trolls, eight vampires, ten ghosts, and twelve dragons. Despite his dog and teddy bear's fright at these creatures, however, our protagonist is able to laugh off each of these potential threats, not worried at all. Clues dropped throughout the illustrations are confirmed toward the end of the story when it is revealed that the reason for his lack of fear is that he has been reading about these monsters in a book. But as soon as he closes its cover, another scary creature enters his room in a surprise ending. The illustrations are the strongest aspect of this book, and they fill each page with color and energy. They would be even more effective, however, if the pacing of the text were slightly altered. As the text is currently laid out, the appearance of most of the monsters is immediately followed on the same page by the boy's amused reaction. For example, "Out of the bushes and out of the brier fluttered eight black bats who were really vampires...I snickered!" It would seem that holding off the boy's reaction until the turn of the page would create more suspense. However, this is a fun bedtime book, and also a good choice for older children who are learning to count by "twos".
LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This is a nice soothing lullaby which will complement this slightly scary story well at toddler storytime:
CLOSE YOUR EYES
Now it's time to say goodnight,
Good night, sleep tight.
Now the sun turns out its light,
Good night, sleep tight.
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Dream sweet dreams for me.
Close your eyes and I'll close mine.
Good night, sleep tight.
Now the moon begins to shine,
Good night, sleep tight.
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Dream sweet dreams for me.
Close your eyes and I'll close mine.
Good night, sleep tight.
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Dream sweet dreams for me.
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