GOODNIGHT, YOU

Friends Piggy and Bunny return in the fourth of this charming series, and in this episode, they experience their first campout—that is, if they can dispel their fears first.

As Bunny waits for Piggy, he’s scared by the shadow of a monster on the wall of the pup tent. “EEEK!” But it’s really his friend Piggy, carrying a lantern and a stick. Bunny asks Piggy, “Does MY shadow scare you, too?” Piggy is all superiority. “No. And even if there WAS a monster, I wouldn’t scream like you!” Each taunts the other in an exchange of “what ifs” that lead up to a final admission: Piggy is afraid of the dark too. The spare text is backlit by simply composed, mixed-media illustrations. As in the other books, the preschool angst plays out against a static background, in this case, the tent. It provides the backdrop for the interplay as the two animals demonstrate different poses—casting a variety of shadows—in their playful conversation about this hypothetical monster. A familiar frog sidekick pops up throughout the scenes. If parents and caregivers haven’t discovered this series yet, now is the time.

These friendship tales are totally in tune with preschool anxiety and fears; Côté brings another winner.