Midnight Peeper Creepers! The Froggies Do Not Want to Sleep by Adam Gustavson

These young dreamtime deniers do not want to snooze the night away. Instead, resorting to stealthy sneaking, they tiptoe outside where they can steal away through the night.

There in the dark they can hop happily, dance to their accordions, accouter themselves in dramatic costumes, and practice pedaling unicycles. They race through the dark roadways in red roadsters, joust with toilet plungers, and wrangle wild crocodiles. They want to practice ballet underwater, sing operatic arias, and pilot their spaceships ...

... ZIPPING THROUGH THE GALAXIES...

...DRINKING FIZZY SODA AND HOLDING BURPING CONTESTS WITH STRANGE, ALIEN LIFE-FORMS.

They do not fear jelly-fish-like monsters with squeezy, tickly tentacles that toss them downward through the clouds....

... and back to bed, in a tumultuous pile, to sleep, perchance to dream... while perchance a stray space monster rumages in a dastardly raid downstairs on their fridge....

And all this is done before midnight, with first-time author-illustrator Adam Gustavson's amphibian adventurers pursuing their dreams as nightie-night naysayers and bedtime avoiders, all the way to space and back. With strikingly conceived and drawn illustrations with a tip of the artiste's tam to Sir John Tenniel's and Kenneth Grahame's humorous amphibian characters, and told with a joyous narration in detailed two-page spreads, Gustavson's The Froggies Do NOT Want to Sleep (Charlesbridge, 2021) features fearless little frogs who live every child's dream of freedom from bedtime. This stupendously gleeful story of what to do when you should be snoozing is a five-star winner for picture book lovers of all ages.

Kirkus Reviews, "A zany, rib-tickling bedtime tour de force."

It's A Dog's Life! If I Were A Dog by Joanna Cotler

IF I WERE A DOG, I'D BE SILLY, JUST LIKE ME.

This young dog lover dreams of a compatible dog. He could be a Dachshund, a terrier, a bulldog, or even a Doberman, but he needs to be nosy but a little shy, big or small, fond of fetching--fast or a slowpoke, playful or grumpy, or even a little bit of trouble. But there's one thing that is most important.

IF I WERE A DOG, I'D BE LOVED... JUST LIKE ME!

The main character in veteran children's author Joanna Cotler's latest, If I Were a Dog (Philomel Books, 2021), is dreaming of a first dog, what he or she would do, which is important when becoming a dog owner, and Cotler shows doggie behavior in many of its possibilities. Illustrated by the author, adorable pups of different breeds are depicted, doing what dogs do, cuddling or being grumpy, bouncy or sleepy, but always needing and giving ... love! Says School Library Journal, "An intuitive, joyful book that gives children agency to imagine their own doggy selves, but also creates a foundation for discussions on differences and similarities."