fly south for
the winter?
To fetch
new leaves
for trees.
What happened
to the dinosaurs?"
Mac Barnett has impressive cred when it comes to capturing a child's voice. In this new book, he introduces a young lady and her father. She's in bed, and wanting to delay the inevitable. She is not yet ready to settle down to sleep. Dad is ever patient with her questions, taking the time to answer with a calm demeanor and an inventive bent.
She begins with one question, allowing him time to provide an answer. Then, another ... and another ... and another ... until, in an attempt to never give in to sleep, the next double page spread is filled with overlapping question balloons. It's enough to drive a dad mad. Instead, he responds with calm and a pat on the head, and a quiet 'It is time to go to sleep.'
As he tries to slip out the door, she proves her tenacity with one final question.
"Why do we have to sleep?"
Dad is prepared.
"Because there are some things
we can only see with our eyes closed."
Satisfaction guaranteed.
Add Isabelle Arsenault's stellar visual storytelling, and you have a book that is sure to be a bedtime favorite for many nights to come. The worlds she creates to accompany Dad's ingenious answers are filled with fantastic creatures doing just what he has described. The child's questions are placed on a dark background in a white bubble; the father's answer in white, smaller bubbles on following double page spreads. The attempt to bamboozle him with a barrage of questions will be much appreciated by readers who may have tried the same tactic themselves.
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