Review by Booklist Review
This large-format picture book introduces a series of children paired with dressed animals: "I'm above. You're below. / I am fast. You are slow." While most books of opposites reinforce the concept without variation, this one sometimes flips the idea along the way, by instead pointing out what certain duos of human and dressed-animal characters have in common: "I am wet. You are too. / I can splash and swim like you." In the final illustration, a child and many, many animals snuggle into, onto, and beneath one bed for a good night's sleep. A pleasure to read aloud, the text has a regular rhythm and satisfying rhymes. Visually, nearly every page brings a new scene, such as a boy in a wheelchair and an aardvark, seated opposite each other at a table and eyeing a towering stack of pancakes. The cast of human characters is racially diverse. Drawn in pencil and digitally colored, the artwork is sure to spark conversations about the kids, the animals, and the situations shown. A fanciful, gently amusing concept book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Life would be a snooze if everyone were the same, but it's also nice to have some things in common. That's the simple premise of Newson (I Am a Tiger) and Hindley's (Be More Bernard) rhyming bedtime book. Each vignette pairs a sweet-natured, anthropomorphized animal with a wide-eyed human kid who points out how the pair reflects shared likes, qualities, or differences. "I am hungry/ You are too," notes a child using a wheelchair, who stares at a very tall and precarious stack of pancakes while sitting across from an anteater (matching checked napkins are neatly tucked under both chins). On the opposite page, a kid about to be examined by a smiling crocodile dentist notes (without alarm), "I have fewer teeth than you." The layout lends a jaunty visual rhythm, and pencil and digitally colored images offer an elegant, easygoing vibe. The wrap-up is a lovely note of unity: everyone gathers for a story, and then heads to the ultimate bunk bed--portrayed in a vertical spread--for a collective lights out. Ages 2--5. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Charming pairs of human and animal characters celebrate their similarities and differences.Characters might look obviously dissimilar, like the brown-skinned child holding hands with the sharply dressed white dogbut they're also alike in many ways, like the sand-colored cat and the sandy-haired white kid who both wear the same striped shirt and overalls. Alternating between contrasting pairs on solid-color backgrounds and comparable pairs in full-bleed scenes, cartoon illustrations reminiscent of Richard Scarry's depict a mixed group of animals and humans exploring their varied identities and experiences with joy. Minimalist rhyme makes for an easy read-aloud and an amusing counterpoint to slapstick antics: "I am gentle. You are rough," reads the text above a llama in a goofy hat dashing toward the page turn as a dark-haired white child holds onto its reins for dear life. Animal characters often serve as an evasion of responsibility for diverse human representation, but this book takes care to show a range of human skin tones as well as a wheelchair user. The art also offers just enough detail to charm observant readers, from an elephant double-fisting pastries to a bus-stop sign reading "BLEAK ST." next to two characters standing in the rain. Somewhat oddly, the loose and otherwise nonchronological narrative ends with bedtime, although that does allow for a well-placed vertical turn to show all the animals stacked in a bunk bed.Entertaining if a tad pat. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
