Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Using lyrics from Betty Comden and Adolph Green's song "I Said Good Morning," a young boy greets the day with joy. In rhyming format, he says good morning to everything he sees, "the sun, the hills, the chickies and the hens, the rooster, the cow, the piggies in the pen" as he moves from a rural setting to the city.... Good morning to the planes, the buses, the taxis and the vans, the trucks, the cars, the garbage, and the cans." Then he reverses the order as he returns home telling everything good night, while the illustrations darken, preparing everything (including young listeners) for sleep. In the end, the boy is tucked in bed while his mother watches from the doorway. The childlike black line drawings are colored in with primary watercolors surrounded by irregular blocky outlines, an appealing and well-suited style for the text. With wonderful repetition of words, this book will be read over and over.-Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TX (c) Copyright 2014. 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
A boy begins his day walking toward the city saying, "Good morning," to everything he sees. Halfway through the story, he changes direction saying, "Good night," to everything in reverse order. The circular verse and repeating visual themes reinforce the home/away/home pattern, with sunrise mirroring sunset. Barroux's broad brush strokes and rich colors fill out and give shape to subtle pencil outlines. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A child greets the day and then says goodnight in this circular picture book. Over the first three double-page spreads, spare verse (based on a song by Betty Comden and Adolph Green) relates the various sights that a boy beholds as he opens his window to the day: "Good Morning to the sun, / Good Morning to the hills, // Good Morning to the chickies and the hen. / Good Morning to the rooster, // Good Morning to the cow, / Good Morning to the piggies in the pen." Ensuing pages show the boy greeting other creatures, things and places, moving from the pastoral setting of the opening to a city scene. The climax of the text reads (with a bit of a rhythmic misstep) "Good Morning! Good Morning! / To everything in sight! By the time I get through saying Good Morning, it's time to say // Good Night," and then, looking rather forlorn, the child says "Good Night" to everything he'd greeted on prior pages. By the time he snuggles down to sleep, he is smiling as his mother (heretofore unseen amid all of his adventures) stands in his bedroom doorway. Barroux's whimsical, nave-style illustrations establish his work, once again, as an ideal match for Ziefert's verse--see Bunny's Lessons (2011) and My Dog Thinks I'm a Genius (2011) as other strong collaborations. A successful offering from a well-matched pair. (Picture book. 1-4)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
