How to make a bedtime

This book-length set of bedtime instructions is narrated in cozy verse and illustrated in loose, warmly lit acrylic paint, charcoal, and pastel spreads. "Oh, the first part is easy,/ and here's how it goes...// sloshy-wash till you sparkle/ from tip-top to toes," reads rhyming text as a kindly, lumbering bear who seems to stand in for a human caregiver sits smilingly next to a bathtub. (The bathing human child, portrayed with pale skin, sports a soap-bubble beard.) Dried off in a towel by big, careful paws, the child stands waiting to see what comes next. "But you can't go to bed yet./ I think you know why": pajamas must be donned, Teddy found, and a lullaby sung. After "a huggily hug,/ and a smoochily kiss," readers see the heavy-lidded, tucked-in bedgoer. "Wait! Don't shut those eyes!" There's one final ingredient--one that features a visit to the bookshelf. McKinlay (Always Never Always) imbues the familiar routine with low-key, teasing suspense and inventive endearments, while Blair (When I'm Big) offers the fantasy of a caregiver whose furry snout, loving gaze, and warm, pajamaed bulk supply endless patience and ideal hugs. Ages up to 3. (Jan.)

A tot prepares for bed with a little help from a loving bear. "When the sun's light isfading/ andnight'son the rise, / it's time to startyawning/ your sleepy goodbyes." The narrator of this gentle rhyming tale appears to be the anthropomorphic bear who helps a young child settle into bed. The little one is light-skinned and has short, straight, strawberry-blond hair, while the brown, pajama-clad animal would be right at home in one of Virginia Miller's bear books. There's nothing threatening about the large creature, who looks on as the child bathes and dons pajamas, helps the youngster find a lost teddy, reads a story, and finally tucks the child in for the night with "a huggily hug, and a smoochily kiss." Readers may wonder at the omission of toothbrushing, but there's certainly no missing the affection between the child and the bear, and the warm palette and soft lines and forms that make up the illustrations only enhance the text's soothing tone. At book's end, the sleepy bear, duty done, retreats to the blanket fort where it first appeared with the child on the opening endpapers for some shut-eye as well, taking the narrative full circle. An artfully constructed bedtime book.(Picture book. 0-4) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.