Children's Book
Kindergarten-Grade 2-This installment in the series finds Little Bill hearing bumps in the night. He runs first to his parents, who comfort him and lead him back to bed. When his fears return, he goes to his great grandmother, Alice the Great, who calms him and teaches him a special way to smooth the covers that will keep the monsters at bay. The story gives parents a successful model for dealing with a nighttime scare, but fails to appeal to a child's sense of fun and imagination. The text is dry and seems intended to comfort adults rather than frightened children. Honeywood's illustrations, however, are bright and interesting. They contain details such as a monster poster on Little Bill's wall, which offers a hint as to the source of his fear. Mercer Mayer's classic There's a Nightmare in My Closet (Dial, 1968) and Martin Waddell's Can't You Sleep, Little Bear (Candlewick, 1992) give both parents and children a means for dealing with the perils of bedtime.
Martha Link, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Scholastic 1999
Clean tight bright copy Looks barely read
