GOOD NIGHT, MR. PANDA

Mr. Panda knows how to prepare appropriately for bedtime.

Mr. Panda is not too sleepy to note the steps his many friends have skipped on their ways to bed, and it is clear that, to him, their omissions are evidence of behavior that is simply not up to standard. To a hippo whose wide-open jaws appear to emit wafts of bad breath, Mr. Panda says, from his own bubbly bath, “You’ve forgotten to brush your teeth,” and to an apparently stinky skunk, “You’ve forgotten to take a bath.” The hippo and the skunk promise to remedy their lapses at some future point, but a lemur that breaks the frame from above happily claims to have a “minty fresh” mouth and to be “squeaky clean.” Mr. Panda’s pajamas are decorated with multicolored doughnuts, and the matching stocking cap perched on his head is tiny, yet he manages to convey his usual sense of forbearance and dignity. Sheep in nothing but their wool tell Mr. Panda that they don’t wear pajamas, but the lemur sports suitably stripy ones. Though Mr. Panda shows his vulnerable side as he succumbs to sleep at last, the contrast between Mr. Panda’s monumental seriousness and all the other story elements (such as the bright-eyed panda cuddly toy he takes with him to bed) is hilarious and charming.

Perfect for encouraging a decorous bedtime.