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THIS BOOK WILL GET YOU TO SLEEP!

Name: THIS BOOK WILL GET YOU TO SLEEP!
Author: Jory John
ISBN: 978-0-374-31130-8

by Jory John ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2022

A picture book that takes bedtime drama to a whole new level.

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This is not your average bedtime story.

“ATTENTION, READER!!! / This book will get you to SLEEP./ It’s TRUE.” An excessively eager kangaroo, with a blue megaphone and snazzy blue boots, is up for the challenge of sending youngsters off to slumberland. Want to fall asleep? Pshaw, that’s easy. All you need are some monster trucks to roar by, “RUMBLING and BUMBLING and CRASHING.” Or maybe a menagerie of animals to lull you to sleep with screeching electric guitars: “RAOO RAOOO RAOOOOOOO!!! YOU ASLEEP YET?” Surely counting sheep will do the trick…except they’re running too fast for you to count them because they’re being chased by dragons! Tallec’s free-wheeling style shines as distraction upon distraction pile up on the book’s high-energy double-page spreads. John’s chatty narration and signature dry humor (“Hmm? / You’re wide-a—what? / You’re wide-AWAKE?”) propel the story with frenetic fun. Young audiences won’t hesitate to join in as the overzealous marsupial leads a stadium full of critters in a boisterous chant (“FALL ASLEEP! FALL ASLEEP! FALL ASLEEP!”), and the amusing sound effects are perfect for read-alouds. Alas, this book just may have the opposite effect of the titular vow; thankfully, a disclaimer is included on the cover. All characters are anthropomorphic animals. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A picture book that takes bedtime drama to a whole new level. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 15, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-374-31130-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022

- BOOK REVIEW
THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

- BOOK REVIEW
YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS BOOK!
by Jory John ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIG CHEESE
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

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DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Aristides Ruiz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.

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Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.

Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023

ISBN: 9780593563168

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYTHING IS GRAPE!
by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Michelle Tran

- BOOK REVIEW
NO PEEKING AT PRESENTS
by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Sara Not

- BOOK REVIEW
QUIET DOWN, LOUD TOWN!
by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Matt Hunt

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)