Good Night

Deborah Dowson is a children’s librarian in Pickering, Ontario.

These two sturdy, compact board books invite adults and toddlers to
share some happy, carefree moments of childhood. Good Morning begins a
child’s day with the familiar routines of eating, bathing, dressing,
and playing that youngsters easily identify with. These events are
combined with an amusing game of make-believe as a child pretends to be
various animals, such as a bird, a turtle, and a frog. The fun becomes
fantastical as the illustrations picture the animal in place of the
child having breakfast, getting washed, and so on. Good Night follows
the identical format as a little boy plays the same game with his mother
as they prepare for his bedtime.

Eugenie Fernandes’s enticing illustrations are as sweet and soft as a
child’s embrace and as warm and brilliant as a sunny day. There is a
pleasing quality and appealing rhythm to the text. Children will enjoy
the predictability of the repetition of sentence structure, just as they
will appreciate the repetition of the game as each turn of the page
presents a new activity and a new animal character.

As a learning experience, these books provide many opportunities for
very young children to point out and identify familiar objects presented
in eye-catching color. Children may also be tempted to make animal
sounds as they imitate the game with their parents. The love and delight
of the characters shine from the pages to offer the reader a completely
enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.