Bedtime Hullabaloo

School Library Journal

PreS-K—Conway returns to the African savanna where a leopard, giraffe, baboon, and other animals cannot get to sleep because they are disturbed by snorts and grunts. On their way to find out what is causing the terrible racket, they gather several other tired beasts. They finally discover the source of all the commotion—a tiny shrew in a pink tutu with a very loud snore. Together, the animals growl and screech until they wake the offender and are able to fall asleep. The last page shows that the shrew has plans to make sure the others do not sleep for long. This slight story starts out sounding like it is going to be an adventure in alliteration, but the wordplay stops abruptly on the next page and then appears sporadically in the rest of the book. Fuge's illustrations of goofy, wide-eyed animals reflect the silliness of the text, but some of his drawings border on the grotesque (the giraffe sitting on his rump looks too weird to be funny). And the punch line of the entire tale is given away on the back cover. Skip this one and go for another reading of Bob Shea's Dinosaur vs. Bedtime (Hyperion, 2008).—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

Kirkus Reviews

A terrible racket at bedtime sends leopard off to find its source. He meets other animals along the way, all getting ready for bed in their own manner, and they form a parade. Leopard leads giraffe, baboon, hyena, meerkat, zebra, lion, ostrich and water buffalo. The source of the noise is sure to be a giggle-inducing surprise, as is the predictable but still enjoyable ending. Fuge's jewel-toned illustrations give readers no doubt as to the story's savanna setting. Squinting eyes and twitching mouths (many echoing mid-to-late-century Disney animation) bring the characters to life as they blearily and angrily set off to find the source of the racket. Conway's tale is well-crafted, but his prose methods are inconsistent. Leopard's page contains lots of alliteration, while baboon's page and several others feature some rhyme, and still other pages are chockablock with synonyms. Sadly, none of these devices is carried throughout the text, which will cause confusion for both oral readers and listeners. Still, this could be an amusing African-themed complement to The Napping House. (Picture book. 3-7)