ALA Booklist

A mother finds a strange bundle under the blankets in her bed and wonders out loud what it could be--to the delight of the young child who's hiding there. If this sounds like Krauss' The Bundle Book (1951), it is, with new illustrations and a new title. Librarians don't much care for new titles on old texts, but when a book comes with a sticker on the front proclaiming Free Gift Card Inside! the library market is clearly secondary. Nevertheless, parents of preschoolers should be pleased with this new, rather nostalgic-looking edition. From the first page, in which the child hides under a decorative chenille bedspread rather than the stated blankets, the approach to illustration is quite different. Soft-edged, pastel, and pretty, the new artwork even illustrates the mother's musings (Can it be a bundle of carrots? . . . Maybe it's a monkey?), which the earlier book left to children's imaginations. A sweeter, more sentimental version of an old favorite. (Reviewed July 1998)

Horn Book

Originally published as 'The Bundle Book', Krauss's text has been re-illustrated and retitled. The text is reassuring and cozy--a small child hides under a blanket and the mother repeatedly guesses what the bundle might contain. The illustrations are soft and romantic, printed on nursery-yellow paper with a pastel palette and a blue-eyed "Gerber baby." The text is charming and realistic, but the artwork is sentimental.

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

Originally published in 1951 as The Bundle, Krauss's (The Carrot Seed; A Hole Is to Dig) text gets a new look with cozy illustrations by Noonan (Dreamland). A mother, pretending to be mystified by a toddler-sized lump under her blanket, tries to guess what it is: Laundry? A monkey? Humpty Dumpty? Krauss's uncanny ability to capture a child's cadence has the youngster responding with cumulative """"no"""" replies, so that her mother's first question gets a """" No,' the bundle replied,"""" the second a """"No, no"""" until finally the seventh wrong guess from the mother (""""No, no, no, no, no, no, NO,' the bundle replied"""") leads her to give up--and the bundle yells, """"It's ME!"""" Cartoonish songbirds, fuzzy stuffed animals and a pastel palette give the realistic illustrations a nostalgic, sentimental air; their luminous glow also lends softness to the characters' skin and a palpable fluffiness to the bedding. Children are likely to enjoy knowing--and finally seeing--what's under the blanket, helped even on first reading by the feet peeking out. The sweet simplicity of this hide-and-seek story loses nothing in nearly a half century; the illustrations may be on the sugary side, but the playful affection between mother and child shines through both text and illustrations. A free gift card is included in the inside cover. Ages 3-7. (May)

School Library Journal

PreS--"One morning a mother saw a strange bundle under the blankets in her bed." So begins this charming story of a treasured moment between mother and child. In a familiar game, the woman tries to guess what this child-shaped object may be. A pile of laundry? A bunch of carrots? She is sure she doesn't need any of these things, and each time the squirming lump says, "No." Finally, a face pops out of the blanket and yells, "It's ME," and the two share a hug. In a perfect ending, the mother affirms, "It's you. And--you're just what I need." This story was originally published in 1951 as The Bundle Book. As with many of Krauss's titles, the proof of its classic status is the way young children still giggle at its gentle simplicity. Noonan's illustrations, in the soft pastel colors of the nursery, glow as if suffused with morning light. As the mother wonders about the contents of the bundle, an appealing stuffed puppy acts out her guesses, bringing an added touch of humor to the silly inquiries. Sure to be a toddlertime favorite.--Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA