Review by Horn Book Review
In 1985 Boynton followed up her popular 1982 board book The Going to Bed Book with a "larger and longer" picture-book version, which has now been redrawn with small differences in the art. Similarities to prior versions will be noticeable to avid viewers, but the picture-book format gives both text and art room to breathe and allows Boynton to include more of her signature animals. The redone illustrations are rich and crisp, and full of humor as always. The original picture book and this updated version contain additional text and drawings toward the end, featuring the animals climbing into one bed and two little rabbits singing about the animals' dreams (complete with illustrated musical score) before the final familiar lines rock a new cohort of toddlers to sleep. Cynthia K. Ritter January/February 2022 p.146(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A motley crew of Boynton critters get ready for bed aboard a boat in this picture book based on the beloved The Going to Bed Book, first published as a board book in 1982. "The sun has set not long ago. // Now everybody goes below // to take a bath / in one big tub / with soap all over-- / SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB!" In gently rhyming verse that generations of readers have committed to memory already, a hippo, a dog, a couple of rabbits, a pig, a moose, an elephant, and more take a bath, put on pajamas, and brush their teeth. Playfully (but slightly inexplicably right before bedtime), they head to the deck to exercise. The pacing has been stretched out so that scenes that once occupied one page now stretch out over double-page spreads. The main addition to the original book's text is an interpolated scene in which the animals pile into bed and two rabbits sing a lullaby. Complete with lyrics and notation, the song is about many of the critters wallowing in the mud with the hippos. The bedtime routine ends with the menagerie being rocked to sleep in the arklike boat. Fans of The Going to Bed Book will note that very little is actually new, but it is a joy to see Boynton's colorful characters and playful verse in a larger trim size. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A gentle and playful bedtime voyage. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
