Starred Review Blair serves us a gentler take on Where the Wild Things Are in his blue-toned tale of a sleepless boy's nighttime adventure. With thoughts of tentacles and closet monsters dancing in his head, Watson's round eyes are as open as can be, despite him being tucked into a cozy bed. Just as a wish to be "anywhere else but here" flits through his head, a light glows from beneath his blanket. He tentatively lifts the blanket and discovers an entirely new world, its pillowy, star-studded sky propped up by long sticks. The stars illuminate a winding path, which Watson t stuffie in hand gins to follow because he's not sleepy after all. Odd, charming details unfold as Watson wanders through the slumberland, cast in teals, mauve, and deep indigo and shaded with crosshatching, where he discovers a forest populated by strange (but friendly!) creatures. The journey becomes increasingly fantastic as the boy ventures on, becoming ever more tired in the process. Eventually, he crawls from beneath the night tent and back into his bed, where he falls immediately to sleep. The artwork in this imaginative bedtime tale will captivate little ones with its peculiar, dreamlike details. It also sidesteps being scary, offering comfort in the wonders that the night can bring.

Worried about possible monsters at bedtime, a boy takes refuge beneath his quilt and discovers beneath it not only stars, but a winding path through an expansive land. The journey that ensues makes for a classic bedtime adventure, complete with a mysterious forest, friendly monsters, and a trolley ride “through an ancient city,/ along treacherous cliffs,// and over the sea to a tiny island/ with a very tall tower.” With each twist, a refrain—“And since Watson wasn’t sleepy...”—explains the pale-skinned protagonist’s decision to proceed even farther. Fatigue increasingly overcomes the child nevertheless—Watson is so droopy-eyed upon arriving at the tower that he can barely climb its spiraling stairs, before tucking in for a good night’s rest, even amid text hinting that the monsters may still lurk. Digitally colored with midnight hues, Blair’s closely worked pen and ink drawings frequently take a long-distance aerial perspective, emphasizing the maze-like aspect of Watson’s explorations. It’s dream-inspiring bedtime fare that emphasizes a child’s solo arc toward self-soothing and, eventually, sleep. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)