Nakarnura, Katherine Riley. Song of Night. lllustrated by Linnea Riley. Blue Sky, 2002. ISBN 0439266785. $15.95.40 pp. Reviewer: AnnMarie Hamar Reading Level: Preschool; Primary Rating: Excellent Genre: Picture book; Poetry Subject: Children--Sleep--Juvenile fiction; Bedtime--Juvenile fiction; Animals--Infancy--Juvenile fiction; Books--Reviews It's night and time for all little animals to get ready for bed. Duckling splashes and plays in the bath. Three kittens curl up to hear a bedtime story .Papa Bear sings a lullaby to his baby while a little bunny and his mother gaze at a constellation shaped like a carrot. Soon it will be time for lights out and one last kiss goodnight. This soothing, rhyming story has minimal text. Riley's charming soft-toned illustrations contain bold humor, such as showing mice using rodental floss. Each double-page spread is devoted to one of the rituals little children often follow as they get ready for bed-brushing their teeth, hearing a story, and crawling under the bedcovers to be tucked in. One particularly charming drawing shows all the animal parents and children gazing up at a large moon and boat-shaped clouds. This is the first collaboration for this mother-daughter team.
