Children’s Book Review: Goodnight, You
Goodnight, You is Governor General’s Award-winning author and illustrator Geneviève Côté’s fourth picture book in the charming Piggy and Bunny series. This time around, the pals are getting ready for a campout. Bashful Bunny is frightened by a monstrous shadow on their tent. When it turns out to be only Piggy carrying a lantern, the two talk about how they might handle future scares in the night. Piggy is all bluster and bravado, pledging to chase away any spooks by making scary faces of his own, or tickling their noses. Bunny offers his gentle monster-taming solution of singing a “lullaby so sweet” and then turning off the light. Piggy’s startled reaction to this idea leads to a confession: “I’m a wee bit scared of the dark.” The best buddies watch the stars illuminate the sky and face their fears together.
Piggy and Bunny’s personalities shine through the sparse text. Their distinct voices are enhanced by the use of different typefaces. Piggy’s speech is peppered with plenty of capital letters and the more reticent Bunny asks lots of “What if” questions.
In Côté’s mixed-media illustrations, a shadow puppet performance plays out against the theatre screen tent. The characters’ body language are very expressive, from Piggy’s confident stance as he jousts with tree branch, to Bunny’s vulnerable gaze as he tilts his head and cradles a blanket. Readers will also enjoy spotting a flighty butterfly and a gregarious frog on each page and following their related antics.
Goodnight, You is a delightful addition to the Piggy and Bunny collection and is a storytime essential.
Linda Ludke is a librarian at London Public Library. Her reviews have appeared in Quill and Quire, School Library Journal and CM: Canadian Review of Materials. When she’s not reading and writing she also loves searching for vintage treasures.
The National Reading Campaign publishes children’s book reviews under a Creative Commons License. This review is entirely free to reproduce and republish online and in print. Credit must be given to the reviewer and the National Reading Campaign. Reviews can be edited for brevity only. Contact Us for more information.
Comments