Eh.  It’s another take on bedtime monsters, as the title indicates.  In this one we see a little boy playing monster before bed, and then wanting to sleep with his parents for fear of the monsters that may materialize.  Mom has little sympathy, and sure enough, a series of monsters present themselves, each declaring that they are afraid of some other monster (which is sure to be the next one to arrive), and crawling into bed with Arnold, until it is quite crowded.  The last monster says he’s scared of Arnolds, and so when Arnold declares his identity all the monsters scurry off to their corners and Arnold has his bed back to himself.  The most interesting page is at the end, when the illustration shows all the monsters lurking in the parts of the room where we can see what real items in the room inspired their births in Arnold’s imagination.  All around, it’s okay, but I wasn’t particularly wowed.

The illustrations are fabulous — they’re silly and fun, and they do a great job of evoking the joys and absurdities of family reunions, which is essentially what this story is about.  The text itself, though, doesn’t really live up to the illustrations.  It’s trying to be a poem, but it doesn’t have good rhythm/flow for reading aloud fluently, and it’s not really clear about the point of it all.

As a general rule, I’m not a fan of pedantic stories that are purposely written to teach some moral.  I think they’re kinda patronizing to kids.  That being said, this story is not bad for that kind of thing.  It tells of a little pig who always wants to be first, until he races to be first to respond to a call, “Who would care for a sandwich?”  It turns out to be a sand witch who needs caring for, and who holds him to his word until he learns his lesson.  It would be better simply by removing the banner across the front cover that proclaims it “A Story About Learning to Take Turns.”  Why couldn’t they let kids think it through themselves as to what the story is about?

Following a similar pattern as Cheer Up, Mouse, this one tells the story of Mouse’s trouble getting to sleep, and all his forest friends trying to help.  Each animals makes a suggestion based on their own personal preferences (Frog suggests a bath, Rabbit suggests some exercise to wear him out…), but nothing seems to work, until in the end it turns out he just needs a lullaby reminding him that he is surrounded by loved ones. It’s a sweet, comforting story for young readers, with a problem they can all relate to at some time or another.

I was disappointed.  The illustrations are cute, and the characters are familiar, and the story fine (as the babysitter takes out the five little monkeys to go trick-or-treating, she’s keeping track of them by their costumes, but they keep trading costumes with other critters), but there was no rhyme or rhythm or repetition or counting which characterize the other Five Little Monkey books I’ve read.

The text is clear and simple for young readers, with just a few sentences per page, well-translated, with all text presented in both English and Spanish.  It is illustrated with full-page color photos that support the text.  It begins with a description of the different food groups, and an encouragement to try to eat snacks that draw from at least two of those groups, and then it goes on to basically a list suggestions of healthy snacks.

A sweet story about doing things your own way.  When Bear finds he has out-grown his little boat, he gives it away and sets to building himself a new one.  He tells his mother he knows just what he wants, builds it himself, and tells the boat when he is finished, “You are just what I dreamed you would be.”  But as he gets ready to put it in the water, several other animals come by telling him what his boat needs, and he takes all their suggestions, until he is completely disgusted with how it turned out.  Not wanting to hurt his friends’ feelings, he assured them that he knew they were trying to help and that he appreciated their good intentions but, “A bear should never let go of his own dream.”  The illustrations are cute, and support the text, and the animals faces give them personality.

It basically tells the life story of a blanket & bear, from the time they were given to a newborn, to how he took them with him everywhere until they got left behind one day; on their journey to try to find him again they visit an island of retired blankets and bears enjoying their free time, and they are invited to stay, but they continue their search for the young boy who needs them; eventually they find him, only to discover that he is all grown up and no longer needs them, so they return the the island to retire in leisure.  The story is told in rhyme, and the illustrations are soft and sentimental (but the eyes on the people are a little creepy).  There’s just not any kind of climax or compelling hook to make us care about the blanket and bear.  It’s okay, but not exceptional.

The pair that created the fabulous A Leaf Can Be… have teamed up and done it again.  This simple, poetical book helps readers consider water in all its many forms and capacities.  Most pages contain only a couple words, with opposite pages sharing rhyming pairs describing water in different forms: “garden soaker” (rain) opposite “valley cloaker” (fog).  The illustrations are beautiful and whimsical and support the text, so that readers must often consult the illustration to make meaning from the text. In the back of the book more detailed text offers explanations for each of the names given to water throughout the book, and a glossary and suggestions for further reading are also included.  It really is a delightful book!

This book is beautiful!  If your library was only going to have one version of Beauty and the Beast, I would recommend this one.  The re-telling stays true to the most traditional versions of the story, and is perhaps too long for the youngest audiences, but it is the amazing illustrations that make this such a fabulous choice:  they mix the use of silhouette and color to stunning effect, and include enough delicate detail to evoke the era/locale of the story.  Highly, highly recommended!!