School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A boy in overalls roams around a farm to chat with a cow, sheep, goose, hen, and bee. Upon request, he receives milk, wool, down, eggs, and honey. After a bedtime glass of milk, the curly-haired child cuddles with toys (that match his animal pals) and they gaze at a hive mobile above his bed. Gershator uses rhyme and the melodic rhythm of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" in her dialogue, making the tale fit for either singing or speaking. Potter uses soft colors for day and rich cobalt and chocolate for night in her folksy paintings. She features only essential background details, complementing the text for this soothing book.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a story that's part lullaby, part concept book, with its gentle emphasis on colors, animals, and their sounds, Gershator (Who's Awake in Springtime) riffs on "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to explore a farm boy's day. "Buzz, buzz, yellow bee!/ Have you any honey?/ 'Yes, sir, yes, sir,/ sweet and sunny.' " Each quatrain introducing a new animal is followed by another that explains what the creature provides: "Does sun-sweet honey make a tasty spread?/ 'Yes, sir, yes, sir,' the yellow bee said." Potter's (The Little Piano Girl) characteristically naif illustrations play up the whimsy of the interactions; the bee, for instance, uses a honey dipper to provide the aforementioned "tasty spread," and the boy sits on a sweeping expanse of wool that the sheep knits while sitting in an armchair. The progression of events (yielding a blanket, pillow, and snack) naturally leads to bedtime, and a final scene, in which the animals appear as stuffed toys in the boy's bed (or, in the case of the bees, a mobile), leaves readers to ponder just how much of the day's adventures might have been imagined. Ages 2-5. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
