Goodnight, Ocean

Goodnight, Ocean by Skye Taylor (Loose Parts Press) HB RRP $16.99 ISBN: 9781763807136

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

As darkness swallows the sky, say goodnight to the creatures of the deep, from the green sea turtle ‘cruising along the current’ and the dugong ‘with a blissful bellyful of seagrass’ to the leopard shark ‘resting in the reef’. The ocean will continue to sing ‘sweet lullabies that rush over the sand’.

Skye Taylor’s lyrical descriptions softly bring to life the sweeping array of marine animals found off the coast of Australia. This board book is quiet enough to send toddlers to sleep with a smile on their face.

Awash with emerald, sapphire and violet, Skye’s illustrations embrace dusky night-time hues as heralds of rest. Stars bespeckle both backgrounds and beasts, the twinkling links hinting at the magic of the sea.

Goodnight, Ocean is the perfect bedtime book for nature-loving littlies. Lexically and visually, it is as gentle as a ‘crystal jellyfish bobbing along the blue’.

Goodnight, Joeys

Goodnight, Joeys by Renee Treml (Penguin) HB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9781761349096

The young of wombats, bandicoots, pygmy possums, and quokkas are all called joeys. In this board book for younger children, Australia author/artist Treml has introduced each of these joeys and has used rhyming couplets which all begin with the words, “Whisper goodnight…”

There are joeys which “romp and roll around,” “snuffle, dig and push,” and “leap and glide and soar.”

Every page is washed with a single colour and shows the marsupials engaged in their typical behaviour, for example quokkas ‘twitter, growl and bark” at night with a purplish background. The story finishes with the words, “Whisper goodnight to the mum, where joeys dream beside her tum.”

Goodnight, Little Tough Guy

Goodnight, Little Tough Guy  written by Michael Wagner, illustrated by Tom Jellett. (ABC Books, 2019). HB 32 pp RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9780733339356

Reviewed by Julie Anne Thorndyke

This unique bedtime picture book has a lively, fun text by Michael Wagner, making extensive use of alliteration without being twee. All the tired little tough guys are finished saving the world and ready for sleep. Has a spell been cast over the entire hero kingdom, just as in the time-honoured tale of  Sleeping Beauty? (I wish! say parents everywhere.)

                             “The firefighters are fitting in forty fabulous winks.”

 “Cowboys and cowgirls are completely cactus.”

 These fun statements using wordplay, puns and lavish language sounds are sustained throughout the book. In a sense, the story is one extended “dad joke”. Bathing, cleaning their teeth, falling asleep over their food, our little tough guys

(and gals) are seen doing all the normal bedtime routines young children perform daily. Many of the characters have already shut their eyes, and the others are yawning.

The matt-finish of Tom Jellett’s engaging artwork—line drawings with flat colours, muted midnight-blue backgrounds, teal, black, yellow-orange areas and fluro accents—resemble early TV cartoons. The end papers are reminiscent of vintage 1950s wallpaper from a boy’s bedroom.  The square, sturdy hardback binding will withstand repeated use by your own little superhero.

This book has a masculine feel, full of trucks, rockets, planes, cricket bats,   tools and footballs, and as such seems to target boys— but there are also many suggestions in the text and illustrations that make the book gender neutral. Parents will appreciate the “falling asleep” scenarios depicted in the pictures. Although “heroes” are referenced visually there is no direct reference to the standard copyrighted superhero characters of popular culture, and the costumes worn by the children are generic. This will increase the longevity of the book.

A fun read-aloud story for little boys (and superhero wonder women) from the creators of Why I Love Footy.

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Dusky Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld (Chronicle Books) HB RRP $29.99 ISBN 9781452146980

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Here are two #1 New York Times Bestsellers in this one boxed set. The books – both board books with rounded corners are titled Steam Train, Dream Train and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. What is most unusual is that both of the books, obviously intended for very small children, are quite text-heavy whereas most board books are light on text. Both books use rhyming verse and full-page coloured illustrations.

Steam Train, Dream Train is the story of a steam train travelling through the country at night so all of the text is printed white on dark backgrounds. All of the crew are animals with monkeys, for instance, putting cargo on board when the train stops. Kangaroos have fun ‘… they get to work and have a ball!/Then with a bounce, a pounce, a leap/three boys jump in… and fall asleep.’ Elephants fill up the tankers, and when ‘The train car’s packed,/The crew sits back/and chills with/a midnight snack.’ Different parts of the train are mentioned which should help young readers learn, though the American ‘caboose’ is used instead of ‘carriage.’

In Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Sit, heavy machinery is building a road so machines such as cranes, cement mixers, dump trucks and bulldozers are mentioned. They work during the day, but at night, ‘No more huffing and puffing, team/It’s time to rest your heads and dream.

Obviously parents of small children buy plenty of these books so there is certainly a big market for out of the ordinary board books.