Clever book design adds something extra to this bedtime book, illustrated with Haughton's signature blocky, digital illustrations, rendered in a jewel-toned palette. Tiered page progression tells how very sleepy several woodland animals are, but a wide-awake little bear is not sleepy. The cub eventually exhausts itself searching for playmates. A return home provides cozy closure for the little bear, and the other animals, too. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PreS-Gr 1-The sun is setting, and while the forest creatures feel the inevitable draw of slumber, Little Bear is wide awake. A fantastical purple and fuchsia woodland surrounds four mice, three hares, two deer, and Great Big Bear and her cub, Little Bear. In a series of introductory flaps, Haughton reveals how each animal group gets ready for bed, by establishing a simple pattern ideal for storytelling. Children will itch to join in as the mice yawn, the hares sigh, the deer take a deep breath, and Great Big Bear stretches. However, Little Bear does not feel sleepy and is determined to invite his friends to play. When sleep finally finds him, he follows the same path as the others: sighing, taking a deep breath, stretching, and yawning. Great Big Bear then gently carries him off to bed. Readers then say good night to each animal family in its home, starting with the mice. A dandelion appears, and a mouse's gentle snores blow seeds into the air. Dandelion seeds rise slowly into the sky on each subsequent page until the final page, where the moon is high and all are asleep. Small dots trail across the endpapers, too, like a continuation of the seeds and the animals' dreams. They soar around the southern and northern constellation maps to the forest shown on the earth in the solar system map. This is a charming addition about a dreamer's place within the wider world. VERDICT A stunning picture book for sharing during storytimes or quiet times before bed, this is a must for all collections.-Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Night is on its way for the cozy residents of a forest glade. Fiery sunset hues are in sharp contrast to the crepuscular blues of the creatures, whose droopy eyelids and wilting postures presage bedtime. Each page turn reveals the escalating size of the animals and their matching yawns, from the sleepy mice all the way up to a huge mama bear, who has a GREAT, BIG STRETCH. Baby bear, on the other hand, is ready to play (though his haggard expression suggests otherwise). He doesn't make it too far before he nods off, and the mama bear tucks him in with a sweet peck. While the narrative is slight, Haughton's beautiful scenes artfully carry the story. Dimming blues of the waning day gradually shift to deep red and purple-black as night descends, and the cyclical narrative has a nice, lulling quality. Endpapers bearing celestial diagrams of both the northern and southern stars gently emphasize the science behind the passing of day into night. Cozy, comforting, and perfect for bedtime.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist

Haughton (Shh! We Have a Plan) sets aside his characteristically loopy humor in order to lull young children to sleep. Even the colors are soft-pedaled. As a palette of incandescent colors fades from hot vermilion to deep indigo, a series of graduated pages describes, from small to large, the growing drowsiness in the forest as night falls: "The mice are sleepy... the hares are sleepy... the deer are sleepy." Even Great Big Bear stretches and yawns. Only Little Bear resists: "Well, I'm not sleepy," he declares. But the rest of the forest creatures are too tired to play with him, and as the pages grow ever darker, into magenta and violet, Little Bear starts yawning and stretching, too. Despite their stripped-down, angular construction, Great Big Bear and Little Bear convey a sense of furry realness-especially when Little Bear gets "a great big goodnight kiss" from Great Big Bear, a massive, comforting presence. Children listening to Haughton's story might not fall asleep, but they'll have to admit that it's getting to be about that time. Ages 2-5. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

When the sun sets and all the animals are sleepy, Little Bear is still wide awake, but finally, the cub too, yawns and, after a good-night kiss from Great Big Bear, drops off to sleep.Haughtons deceptively simple narrative chronicles a series of animal yawns. Using digital color effects with masterful control, he gradually darkens his palette as day turns into night. Early pages are cut so that each group is revealed in turn on successively bigger spreads, from small to large: mice, hares, deer, and bears. These nongendered, stylized, blue and black animal shapes have large eyes, heavy-lidded or entirely closed except for those of wide-awake Little Bear. A strip of green grass along the bottom of each spread gradually darkens, white space shrinks and disappears, and the colors of the plants and trees turn from gold to red to a brownish purple. The artist runs through his spectrum again in the final pages: mice sleep against a green backdrop, hares under an orange sky, deer against pinky-reds, and the bears in a purple and black world. Polar-centered star maps on the endpapers might suggest a different kind of story and add a mythic dimension. In front are the Southern Hemisphere constellations; in the back, the Northern Hemisphere reveals the Great Bear and the Little Bear in the sky. An infectious bedtime story, sure to prompt yawns in readers and their preschool listeners as well. (Picture book. 1-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.