Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

After a day full of play with her toy fawn, Planet, a little blonde white girl drifts off to sleep—and Planet is off to play for the night.Once the toy is downstairs, it hears a sound it can't identify and becomes so frightened it passes out. Coming to, it sees it's the family dog, a spaniel named Elliot, and though the toy is relieved, the calm doesn't last long, as Elliot chases Planet and, catching the toy, gives it a playful, vigorous shake. They decide to go to the kitchen for a snack of cookies, where they meet a friendly rat called Bradley, who takes them on a new adventure to capture the biggest cookie they've ever seen. After their big adventure, Planet gets a few hours of sleep before they're up to play again. Liniers has a gift for wordless storytelling through his art-only panels, using muted tones in watercolor under skillfully drawn pen-and-ink lines that create thin outlines and heavy areas of shading. The lettering is distinct and whimsical, and the lines of dialogue are funny, conveying Planet's personality as patient, kind, and quick-witted. The Spanish-language version, Buenas Noches, Planeta, changes only Planet's name, and though Liniers is Argentine, the Spanish is not localized to any one dialect, making it an easy inclusion in kids' libraries and a perfect matched pair for kids who would benefit from the same book in English and Spanish. Liniers continues his run of clever comics for kids, with a fun adventure and panels full of easy-to-follow action. Delightful. (Graphic fantasy. 4-8)

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Starred Review A little girl has a busy day playing with her stuffed animal, and when it's time for bed, she sweetly tucks it under the covers, saying, "Goodnight, Planet." Planet's day, however, is far from over. The plush creature crawls out of bed and down to the living room, where the family's dog, Elliot, is eager to play. Planet and Elliot (who never speaks) are enjoying some cookies when they hear a new voice adley, a mouse, knows where to find the biggest cookie any of them has ever seen. That cookie is the moon, and Planet reaches his long arms out and takes a big leap to try to catch it. Liniers' beautifully rendered scenes in fine ink lines and saturated watercolor washes give this gentle fantasy a naturalistic look, though his focus on the floppy, fawn-like Planet keeps it thoroughly dreamlike. His panel layouts stirringly evoke movement and grandeur, such as when Planet sees the moon for the first time on a full-page illustration and when he gently falls with a soft "pof" into a pile of leaves after trying to grab the moon. There are plenty of stories about what toys get up to at night, but this quiet, masterfully executed comic is particularly enchanting.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

After a day full of play with her toy fawn, Planet, a little blonde white girl drifts off to sleep—and Planet is off to play for the night.Once the toy is downstairs, it hears a sound it can't identify and becomes so frightened it passes out. Coming to, it sees it's the family dog, a spaniel named Elliot, and though the toy is relieved, the calm doesn't last long, as Elliot chases Planet and, catching the toy, gives it a playful, vigorous shake. They decide to go to the kitchen for a snack of cookies, where they meet a friendly rat called Bradley, who takes them on a new adventure to capture the biggest cookie they've ever seen. After their big adventure, Planet gets a few hours of sleep before they're up to play again. Liniers has a gift for wordless storytelling through his art-only panels, using muted tones in watercolor under skillfully drawn pen-and-ink lines that create thin outlines and heavy areas of shading. The lettering is distinct and whimsical, and the lines of dialogue are funny, conveying Planet's personality as patient, kind, and quick-witted. The Spanish-language version, Buenas Noches, Planeta, changes only Planet's name, and though Liniers is Argentine, the Spanish is not localized to any one dialect, making it an easy inclusion in kids' libraries and a perfect matched pair for kids who would benefit from the same book in English and Spanish. Liniers continues his run of clever comics for kids, with a fun adventure and panels full of easy-to-follow action. Delightful. (Graphic fantasy. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

On a fall afternoon, a girl plays with her stuffed animal, a fawn named Planet. He looks like an ordinary toy, but he leads a double life. After the girl says good night to him and falls asleep, Planet sits up. He-s thin and gangly, and he gives the girl a kiss and slides out of bed. He distracts Elliot, the family spaniel, from using him as a chew toy with a cookie. Then a mouse appears with a better offer: -Want to see the biggest cookie ever?- (It-s the full moon.) The mouse tries to get Planet to grab the moon from a tall branch, but the plan fails, and the animals trail home for cookies of the chocolate chip variety. The anticlimax offers a window into the logic of Liniers-s world, where toys can live and speak but the laws of physics still apply. The writing is limited to a few exchanges of dialogue, the panel sequences are alternately poignant and funny, and there-s quiet wisdom, too, as Planet tells the mouse, -Every animal, big or small, is a whole universe.- Ages 4-8. (Sept.)