Review by Booklist Review
Jake is a small penguin who just can't sleep. He hears things under the bed (sssh . . . sssh . . . sssh), and he calls to his father: There's a ghost under my bed! Dad comes right away, and even though he's convinced that ghosts don't exist he looks around the room before he tucks Jake in. Then Jake hears more noises. Is the ghost hiding behind the curtains, in the wardrobe, in the toy chest? Each time, he yells for Dad, who says the noise is the bed creaking, the wind behind the curtain, the heating, until finally Jake knows there are no ghosts--because Dad has chased them all away. The dramatic, unframed pictures show the endearing penguins, father and son, at the center of each image, facing each other in the cozy, night-shaded room. For young preschoolers, this is a universal story about nighttime fears of wild things and the loving reassurance that soothes them.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Van Genechten's (the Ricky books) cozy pen-and-ink spreads feature Jake the penguin, who's tucked safely into bed, his big orange beak poking out from underneath his quilt. Jake hears strange noises ("Cr... cr... crack!"), and calls in Dad to investigate again and again: "THERE'S A GHOST UNDER MY BED!" Dad, beleaguered but never angry, opens the toy box, peers under the carpet, leaves the nightlight on, and arranges the door just so. Gentle comedy unfolds as the expressions on the faces of Jake's stuffed animals-a bunny, an antelope, a couple of robots-mirror his own, alternately alarmed and absorbed. In scenes where Jake's attempts at sleep are disturbed by the noises, the room's contents warp and sway, as the familiar becomes strange and unsettling; Dad's presence sets things right each time. "There are absolutely no ghosts," Dad says finally. "I know," Jake replies, "because you have chased them all away for me." Even the very young will understand that there were none to begin with, a notion that may banish at least some nighttime anxiety-and provide bedtime giggles as well. Ages 3-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Logical explanations and direct evidence will not sway Jake. The young penguin believes that ghosts inhabit his bedroom at night. Emitting their eerie noises from all corners of his room, they keep him and his stuffed animals terrified. Believing the ghosts need to be driven away, he hollers for his dad. As readers soon see, there are no ghosts in Jake's bedroom, but, if we are to believe as he does, it is because his dad's quick appearance and thorough investigation have chased them away. This story is kept lighthearted with the addition of animated stuffed animals and humorous illustrations of Jake's father looking for ghosts. Each spread is a view of the child's bedroom, with the text on the verso and the illustrations on the recto. Gray backgrounds are illuminated by moonlight from the window and a glowing table lamp beside the bed. Told mostly through dialogue between parent and child, this picture book starring two charming penguins dispels bedtime fears by replacing them with belief in a father's love.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada (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 Kirkus Book Review
crack!" There must be a ghost under the bed! Dad is there lickety-split. Must be the bed creaking, he says. After explaining there's no such thing as ghosts, he does check under the bed. Before long, Jake hears another sound--"sshh...sshh...sshh..."--just the wind, according to Dad. He hears noises in the wardrobe, the toy chest, under the carpet, and Dad comes every time to check. In the end, Jake knows there aren't any ghosts because Dad has chased them all away. It's nice to have a nurturing Dad story, and each element--van Genechten's choice of muted but not gloomy palette, simple language, crisp type and uncluttered pictures--seems just right for a very young audience, as is its shorter-thanBedtime for Frances length. The abundance of sounds and repetition of key phrases makes it great for reading aloud. (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
