Bedtime Bunnies

Bedtime Bunnies. Wendy Watson. 2010. Clarion Books. 32 pages. 

Bedtime, Bunnies!
Skip
Scamper
Scurry
Hop
Chomp
Munch
Gobble
Crunch
Sip
Slurp
Guzzle
Gulp

Bedtime, Bunnies is a simple bedtime book. Using few words--though the words are fun, playful, action-oriented--this bedtime story is conveyed through words and pictures. A story of five bunnies going to bed. We see their nightly routine--everything from bathing and brushing teeth to putting on pajamas and listening to their parents read stories. It's sweet; it's simple. I really enjoyed this one!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Gullible Gus

Schur, Maxine Rose. 2009. Gullible Gus. Illustrated by Andrew Glass. Clarion Books. 48 pages

I'm allergic to westerns. But I really thought that this mild exposure wouldn't cause an allergic reaction. After all, it's more humor (and tall tale) than western in content. See for yourself:

Cowboy Gus believed everything people told him. Everything! The other cowboys at the ranch fed him the biggest lies, and he swallowed them whole.
"Watch out, Gus!" Billy Bones once hollered. "It's going to rain nails!" And before he could add "Just Kidding," Gus ran to the barn and stuck a bucket on his head. Another time, Judd Mudd told Gus, "Tonight the hens will sing lullabies," and Gus slept in the chicken coop so he wouldn't miss the music.

The local doc soon confirms that Gus is the most gullible man in the whole state of Texas. He sends him to Fibrock and gives him a mission: find the biggest liar and listen to his most outlandish, most foolish claim. If he can just once utter the phrase, "I don't believe it" then he may just find himself cured. This chapter book features several wild tales all meant to test Gus' gullibility. "Dr. Ducknoise and His Movin' On Medicine Show" , "Cantankerous Clem" and "The Tale of Backwards Hannah."

Will Gus end up cured? Or will he be gullible to the very end?

So did I like it? Not really. Maybe it's the illustrations. Maybe it's the stories and the Texas stereotypes. I don't know. But just because I didn't like this one doesn't mean you won't.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Baby Polar

Murphy, Yannick. 2009. Baby Polar. Illustrated by Kristen Balouch. Clarion Books. Releases November 2009.

Baby Polar stood between his mother's legs. He imagined she was a cave. Only the cave wasn't made of stone or rock, but of her thick fur and warm body. Baby Polar liked it there. He didn't feel the icy wind there. And he could hear the beating of his mother's heart.

Baby Polar always feels safe when he's with his mother. Always. But what happens when he gets separated from her on a snowy day? When the day begins, Baby Polar is excited. It's snowing. And new snow means fun, fun, fun. He is having quite the time playing. But then he realizes that his mother isn't there. Where is she? What's a baby polar to do? Read and see for yourself in Baby Polar.

Did I like this one? I liked it. It was sweet. It was cute. It's a fun enough book about the mother-son connection. The need to explore on one's own and be a little independent, yet feel safe and secure and always connected with one's family, one's parent.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers