Where's bunny?

Toddler-PreS--The opening lines--"Time for bed. Pick up toys and put them away. Where's Bunny?"--will connect readers to the doings of the small toddler and a slightly older sister, both with blushing brown skin, and so the hunt begins. Bath is next, as strong brown arms lower the small child into soapy water. The rituals are as soothing as the warm bath, as the children play with other toys, then are wrapped in soft robes, just as the bunny is restored to its rightful owner. The rhythm is soporific and restful as bedtime approaches. As board books go, this one better be water-resistant; the illustrations set the action right in front of viewers who will reach for the baby reaching up at them. Put this into use for nap times or to aid new parents in the midst of sleep training. VERDICT A loving path to sleepytime, and ideal for board book collections that see wide circulation.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal

The sibling pair that last made Baby Cakes (2017) now walk themselves through a bedtime routine.They pick up toys, bathe, brush their teeth, put on their "jammies," cuddle up "to hear a favorite story," exchange kisses, and go to sleep. As in the prior book, the pictures' focus is on the children, both brown-skinned and with straight, black hair. The brown-skinned adult hands that place the toddler in the bath and then lift the tot back out make it clear that the children are being lovingly supervised, but the visual centering of the children allows for fluid reading of the text. "Time for bed. Pick up toys and put them away," could be as easily interpreted as the older child's guidance as instructions from an unseen adult. Similarly, there is no adult in the frame as the children "hear" the story, so readers may well see a newly literate older sibling reading aloud to a younger onean empowering possibility. The titular refrain, "Where's Bunny?" is introduced before the bath and then suspended till after. While this is logical (Bunny is a soft toy), it also adds unevenness to what should be a predictable textual element. A "bedtime checklist" on the front endpapers delineates all the steps, and a "clean teeth checklist" on the rear endpapers focuses on dental hygiene.A nicely child-centered iteration on a common theme. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.