Catch You Later! Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell

THE SUN SET, THE MOON ROSE, AND MAGGIE HELPED CLEMENT BUTTON HIS FAVORITE PAJAMAS, THE ONES WITH THE BLUE AND WHITE STRIPES.

Maggie is the hostess with the mostest for her Pajama Party! Clement the bunny is buttoned up, and Jean the little elephant, and Alan Alexander the bear are in their nighties, too!

But there's still time for fun--a bit of bouncing on the bed is the first order of business! WHEE! A. A. jumps so hard his pants fall down, to a chorus of giggles.

Not a bit embarrassed, he gets busy showing the sleepover friends the Chicken Dance. Clement wins the funny-face contest whiskers down, and they all join in a game of hide-and-seek. Is it bedtime yet?

"NO!"

But hostess Maggie wisely decides to slow things down a bit before they get out of hand. She leads them in some quiet yoga moves and then brings out the bedtime snacks to approval all around.

"NOM! NOM!"

With a bit of wishing upon their favorite star, at last they all settle down for the grand finale. It's time for bedtime stories. Maggie begins with "Once upon a .... "

"THAT'S A GOOD ONE....!" SHOUTS ALAN ALEXANDER.

And it is, in best-selling author-illustrator Patrick McDonnell's latest, Thank You and Good Night (Little, Brown and Company, 2015), which leads Maggie and her little friends through the partying and into the main attraction for all bedtime tales for tykes, the final lights out and a good good night. McConnell's illustrations are as charming as ever, with each of his toy animals given individual personalities with great good humor as Maggie sees them off to good sleep. Bedtime story veterans may recognize McConnell's sly wink in his choice of names for Maggie's friends taken from authors or illustrators of classic children's stories--Clement Hurd, illustrator of Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny, Jean De Brunhoff, author of The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant, and Alan Alexander (A. A.) Milne, author of The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh. But those are stories for another night.

You Can Count on Octopus! Thank You, Octopus by Darren Farrell

BEDTIME, AHOY!

AWWWW!

A boy and his babysitter begin the bedtime routine, with the usual resistance.

But when the bedroom is in a tubby little tugboat and the sitter is a red octopus, you can be pretty sure this is not your ordinary every-evening bedtime book.

Octopus tries to lead the boy toward bed by offering a nice, warm bath first.

But the tub is filled with nice, warm... egg salad!

Er...

GROSS!

NO THANKS, OCTOPUS!

Octopus is helpful. He offers to dry the boy off with the breeze from his tuba.

Politely, the boy declines. Sheesh!

Octopus suggests the boy put on some pajamas. But... Octopus tosses them on top of the Statue of Liberty.

Things only get goofier, as Octopus clearly tries to make a game out of getting ready for bed. He cranks up the amp, tunes up his guitar, and offers a rock-and-roll lullaby. The boy politely demurs.

Octopus blithely assures his charge that monsters under the bed will be NO problem.

He's put all of them in the closet! He reaches for the closet door to prove it.

"NO THANKS, OCTOPUS!!"

But when it's time for a good-night hug, the boy finds a way (bear-ly) to turn the tables on his silly sitter, in Darren Farrell's inventive little bedtime story, Thank You, Octopus (Dial Book, 2014).  Using a picturesque backdrop of the New York City harbor, Farrell sets his plush-toylike characters in chubby, blocked flat colors, adding to the quirky tone of this awesomely absurd sleepy time tale. Super-giggle fare to take time-for-bed resistors under the sheets with a smile on their faces! Kirkus Reviews says, "A maritime—and bedtime—delight."

Getting to Goodnight! Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep by Barney Saltzberg

IT WAS LATE AND IT WAS QUIET,

AND IN THE BAMBOO GROVE EVERYONE WAS SLEEPING...

EVERYONE EXCEPT CHENGDU.

Some kids refuse to go to sleep. That's not Chengdu's problem, but his parents aren't appreciative of his bedtime compliance. They might be, IF they were awake, which they're not.

No one in the family is awake except little Chengdu. He wants to go to sleep, but his eyes are wide open.

Perhaps a change in position will help. He tries hanging upside by all fours, like a sloth. It doesn't work. He tries hanging head down like a bat. No luck.

No position seems to work. Finally he climbs up the tree, looking for a more comfortable limb. But when he finds it, someone else has beat him to it--his brother Yuan.

Suddenly Chengdu's eyes want to close. He climbs on top of his brother Yuan... and falls asleep instantly.

But now Yuan is wide awake.

Despite its little insomniac panda, Barry Saltzberg's latest, Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep (Hyperion Books, 2014) is a fine inducement to drifting off to dreamland for young sleep resisters. The illustrations, done on a textured paper in pencil, watercolor, with digital touches, use just a few colors--white, gray, black, and a soft but pleasing green, giving the dark scene a moonlit glow that is both pleasing and restful to the eye. Salzberg's engaging page design includes narrow pages increasing in size as Chendu ascends the tree and show off the little panda's sleepy time struggles perfectly, with just the touch of sibling humor at the end. For contrast, pair this one with Jonathan Allen's wide-awake little owl who protests I'm Not Sleepy! (See my review here.)

Driving Dad to Distraction: Mitchell's License by Hallie Durand

MITCHEL NEVER WANTED TO GO TO BED,

UNTIL HIS DAD FINALLY SAID HE COULD DRIVE THERE.

At age three years, nine months, and five days, Mitchell is too young even for drivers' ed, but when his own personal license is presented to him by his game dad, he settles himself like a pro in the driver's seat (Dad's shoulders), grips the wheel (Dad's ears) firmly, and takes his new vehicle out for a trial spin. Hmmmm! That windshield (Dad's glasses) could use a better set of wipers.

Then, VROOM!, Mitchell is off in his own little deuce coupe for a trial run. Mitch has a small fender-bender with the wall on the first loop, but with a quick shift into reverse, he's back on track. Honk! Honk! He hits the horn (Dad's nose).

Now Mitch is getting comfortable with his brakes and transmission system, but poor Dad is beginning to pant a bit from the pace.

A spot of "oil" from Mitchell's sippy cup poured under the hood (long-suffering Dad's mouth) fixes that sputter, but Mom the Mechanic make another observation.

"YOU NEED GAS," SHE SAID.

Mitch flips on his headlights (flashlight) and motors by the drive-in (kitchen) and right up to the cookie jar.

"NO GAS," SAID THE CAR.

Mitch is taken aback. His car has never talked or balked before! Instead, the car makes an abrupt U-turn and heads for--you guessed it--Mitchell's bed, the parking place Dad has been planning for all along.

In Hallie Durand's new Mitchell's License (Candlewick Press, 2011), most of the fun for kids and for parents comes from award-winning (for Let's Do Nothing! and the 2011 Caldecott book Bink and Gollie (ALA Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) Tony Fucille's characters' expressions. Mitchell the driver looks more and more like a NASCAR pro on his final winning lap, and Dad, well, Dad's face changes from dogged good nature to downright grim as his son's "driving" becomes more and more wild. But Hallie Durand's clever story line leads them down the last lap and into the parking garage (Mitchell's bedroom) with aplomb and at last with a PLOP! as Mitchell's "car" turns out to be a James Bond Special with a powerful ejection device which brings Madman Mitch right down where he's supposed to be at bedtime.

As Publishers Weekly puts it, "this one is destined for family favoritehood."

Night Owl: Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep by Mo Willems

TIME TO SLEEP!

Already togged out in her lavender nightie, with her blankie and pillow in hand, Cat the Cat calls out her five-minute warning to her friends. All are way ahead of her, however. Pig the Pig is scrubbing up in a sudsy bedtime bath, Giraffe has his toothbrush in hand, and Crab the Crab has already fetched his nighttime drink of water.

Then Cat the Cat walks into an embarrassing situation when she steps in to call time on Horse the Horse, seated on, er, the bathroom porcelain throne:

CAT THE CAT: "TIME TO SLEEP, HORSE!"

HORSE THE HORSE: "I'M ON IT!"

Flustered, Cat the Cat averts her gaze politely and moves on to Shark the Shark, who is way ahead of her, his plush bedtime pal Pigeon wryly in hand.

Then Cat moves on to her next announcee, Owl the Owl:

"TIME TO --!"

Hey, wait! Cat the Cat is temporarily speechless as she surveys Owl on his perch with eyes wide open. Obviously, she is off-base in calling sleepy time for Owl.

As the seven friends line up for the sleepover in their sleeping bags and bid each other a good night, Owl moves into line and--eyes wide--keeps watch over them all night long from his perch.

Mo Willems' latest, Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep! (Cat the Cat) (Balzer & Bray, 2010) continues this wonderful series of very early readers. In a total word count of only 51 words, including speech balloons, Willems manages some sly wit and a surprise ending, along with his elemental black-line and watercolor illustrations filled with personality, in a book just perfect for those emergent readers just beginning to decode the language.