Goodnight Baby

by Cheryl Willis Hudson

Sometimes my kid's favorite board books are the simplest ones. This one, just a few pages long, shows a toddler winding up his day. With brief rhyming text it describes how after playing with friends the child (appropriately pictured looking tired and rubbing his eyes) has a bath and snuggles with a bedtime story before sleeping in his crib. It's a nice little reiteration of bedtime routine, doesn't have much else going on. I guess it's just the familiarity of repeating what happens before bed that makes it appealing to my daughter. Plus she now likes to try and find the stuffed animal toy included in each picture. She seemed to think it odd or amusing at first, exclaiming "monkey!" emphatically, but then I explained that the monkey is Baby's friend like a teddy bear, and now she doesn't sound so surprised to see him there anymore. The pictures are simple and pleasant, and have just enough detail to entertain a child looking for more to think about- what are the children doing with the toys, for example, or what does Baby do with each of the objects in his bath- so it can be a little more engaging if you want, but is also nice and brief when you're looking for a quick bedtime story.

Rating: 2/5         10 pages, 1992