Review by Booklist Review
PreS. A time-for-bed tale gets a new twist as a little pig named Cornelius P. Mud works his way through his before-bed tasks. Mom has a series of questions:\b Have you put your toys away? Did you feed your fish? Have you used the bathroom? \b Cornelius answers Yes! to all, but sharp eyes will note that he is shoving his toys in the fridge, feeding cookies to the fish, and riding his broom horse while sitting on the toilet (lid down). But even after he has put on his pajamas and picked a good-night story (make that 10), when Mom asks him if he is ready for bed, he shouts, No! He hasn't gotten a hug. The last spread shows a big hug, indeed. The oversize pictures offer plenty of space for humor, and Saltzberg employs comedy to full advantage. Using acrylics and pencils, he has created a little pig with a sweet smile and a devilish gleam in his eye. Set against fruity background colors (lime, cantaloupe, tangerine), the simply drawn pigs play out their respective roles; kids will recognize them. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A series of hilarious child-like responses answer the title question posed in the board book Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? by Barney Saltzberg. When his offstage caregiver asks, "Did you feed your fish?," he answers, "Yes!" as a full-spread illustration shows him dropping a chocolate chip cookie into the fish bowl. (Candlewick, $6.99 26p ages 1-3 ISBN 978-0-7636-3303-5; Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In this humorous title, the text is limited to typical bedtime questions such as, "Have you put your toys away?" and "Did you feed your fish?" Cornelius replies in the affirmative to each inquiry, but it is the art that tells the whole story. Through Saltzberg's acrylic-and-pencil illustrations, readers see that while the young pig did put his toys away, he put them in the refrigerator. Youngsters also see that the fish were fed, but they are nibbling on cookies instead of fish food. This book is sure to generate laughs from children and adults alike. Cornelius will be welcome in most libraries.-Kelley Rae Unger, Peabody Institute, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) ""Have you put your toys away?"" ""Have you used the bathroom?"" ""Did you choose a book?"" Cornelius P. Mud answers ""YES!"" to his unobservant parent's bedtime questions, but the wide-awake acrylic and pencil illustrations tell a different story. Cornelius puts his toys away...in the refrigerator; he uses the bathroom...to ride his hobby horse; he carries not just one but a leaning tower of books. Finally, ""'Are you ready for bed?' 'NO!'"" Young bedtime negotiators may think they know where the joke is going, but this little piggy isn't stalling for time. He's just waiting for an important part of the nighttime routine: a hug. Is he ready for bed now? ""YES!"" The simple text with its twist on a familiar story line and the bold, dynamic pictures are both attention-grabbers. The back endpapers have the last laugh, however: they show a grinning Cornelius P. Mud, tucked into bed with the lightsout, shining a flashlight on an electric guitar. Rock-on-a-bye-baby. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In an amusing counterpart to David Shannon's instant classic No, David! (1998), a cheery piglet calls out affirmatives to a series of bedtime queries from an oblivious parent: "Have you put your toys away?" "Did you feed your fish?" "Did you choose a book?" and so on. But the simple, brightly colored pictures tell a different story, as those toys are all piled into the fridge, the fish are dining on cookies and Cornelius, clad in swimwear as well as pj's, is staggering beneath a tottering pile of reading--including the likes of Where the Wild Pigs Are, and The Day the Piggies Crawled Away. Still, by the time that parent, portrayed generically in shirt and sweat pants, finally steps in, Cornelius lacks only a hug to be ready for dreamland. Well, not exactly . . . With only a few very large words per page for text, and figures placed against featureless, unevenly brushed backgrounds in the art, this helter-skelter bedtime ritual even has a David-ish look--but its unique tack makes it more that just borrowed goods. (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
