Payne's (Late for School) elegant, cinematically styled paintings have a visceral, energetic mischief that brings to mind the best Tom and Jerry cartoons. "It's time for bed. It's time for sleep./ No more time for hide-and-squeak," but a mouse baby has other ideas. He leads his bespectacled and clearly willing father on a wild chase through every nook and cranny of the house (yes, the mouse runs up the clock, as well as executes an exhilarating cannonball into the bathtub). Large geometric shapes, subtle but highly evocative texturing, and warm, rich colors anchor Payne's settings, amplifying the baby mouse's inexhaustible energy and giddy transgressiveness, while buoying Frederick's (Babyberry Pie) rock solid, somewhat quaint rhymes ("There's my little rascal,/ hiding in the froth" she writes in the aftermath of the bathtub scene). The spreads are small masterpieces of composition, yet they never feel static; rather, it's as if someone has hit the pause button to briefly allow readers to savor the image's beauty before the story continues on its rollicking way to the bedtime wrap-up. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)
Deft, bouncing rhyme accompanies vibrant illustrations full of energy and charm in this lively twist on a going-to-bed book. . . . A satisfying good-night book and a celebration of the relationship between father and child, this is hard to resist, particularly because of the joyful depictions of the frolicking mice. . . . A great choice for reluctant sleepers. - KIRKUS, December 15, 2010
"Warm, funny, and playful, this rhyming story is just right for sharing with toddlers at bedtime or for acting
out all day long."
BOOKLIST, January 1, 2011
Beautifully rendered illustrations in pen and ink, colored pencils, and acrylics are shown on a variety of spreads, single pages, and small vignettes. . . . When the father exultantly lifts his child up for a kiss and hug, both mice exhibit much joy at being together again. As baby is tucked in for the night, the two exchange a mutually loving look, reinforcing the strong bond they share.–Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
- SLJ February 2011
Winsome and speedy, this book is an easy reread. - Chicago Tribune, February 5, 2011
PreS-K—As a father mouse calls his young son inside for bed, the little one decides to make a game of it and seemingly eludes his dad at every turn. Sporting a pince-nez and a tolerant demeanor, the older mouse patiently follows his scampering child and is never far behind. Beautifully rendered illustrations in pen and ink, colored pencils, and acrylics are shown on a variety of spreads, single pages, and small vignettes, which create interest. The mischievous, large-eared mouseling leads his father on a merry adventure beginning outdoors, hiding under plants then slipping through the mouse-door of a large house. The small gray creature, with his large blue eyes and expressive face, has a great time sliding down a leaf, sitting on the minute hand of a large clock, and cannonballing gleefully into a bubble bath. When the father exultantly lifts his child up for a kiss and hug, both mice exhibit much joy at being together again. As baby is tucked in for the night, the two exchange a mutually loving look, reinforcing the strong bond they share.—Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Deft, bouncing rhyme accompanies vibrant illustrations full of energy and charm in this lively twist on a going-to-bed book. It's bedtime for a mouse baby, but he doesn't want to sleep—so although Daddy says, "No more time for hide-and-squeak," the games begin. As mouse baby wiggles, dashes, scampers and scurries through the house, it's Daddy who gives chase, following the little one up curtains, around a lamp, over a clock and through bubbles in the bathroom. Mouse baby is finally captured and gets his comeuppance—a kiss and a hug. Now it's really time for bed, and this mouse baby may just be too exhausted to refuse. A satisfying good-night book and a celebration of the relationship between father and child, this is hard to resist, particularly because of the joyful depictions of the frolicking mice. In close-up and long shot, isolated against white space or scampering through the human-sized rooms, Payne's mice—big-eared, grinning critters outlined crisply in ink and tinted with acrylics and colored pencils—seem ready to jump off the page. A great choice for reluctant sleepers.(Picture book. 2-6)
