The increasingly crowded bed nighttime or nap time by now a standard picture-book plotline. Fresh takes on the subject are hard to come by, but Root manages to make it feel new by punctuating the story with the sounds of impending disaster. Not only does the bed frame go "creak" each time a youngster climbs onto the mattress with Mom and Dad but the door goes "squeak," the thunder goes "boom," and the dog's paws go "clickety-clackity." Meanwhile, Poppa snores and makes other humorous nighttime noises like "snark" and "snurkle." The economy of the story line is paralleled by gouache illustrations (done predominately in a saturated aqua blue and golden-moonlight yellow) that reinforce the bed-centered tale but also pull in and zoom out on its inhabitants for different perspectives. The lantern-jawed, snub-nosed family is cartoon cute, making for a perfect storytime read.

One dark night when Momma and Poppa are snoozing in bed, little Evie, Ivy and Mo, in turn, squeeze into bed with them, and each time the bed says, "CREAK," louder. When thunder booms, their dog Fred leaps in too, and the bed says, "CRACK"—and breaks. "Poppa scratched his head and Poppa said, Guess there's plenty of room for all in the bed!' " Root's characteristically rhythmic, repetitive text provides lots of opportunity for audience participation and gracefully carries the humor along. Dunnick's comic, acrylic gouaches illustrate the broken bed with the kids plopped on top of their parents and Fred stretched out across the bottom. Keen eyes will notice the dashing lines that hint at the impending breakdown, and the bolded, all-caps sound effects add to the fun. The droll cover will have kids reaching for the book, and the cozy, humorous story is guaranteed to invite giggling kids into their parents' beds. (Picture book. 4-7)

Silly and slight, this story of an inadvertent and ultimately inadequate family bed is more notable for Dunnick's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Louds Move In!) buoyant gouache artwork than Root's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Toot Toot Zoom!) text, which never quite finds its rhythmic footing. “One dark night in the middle of the night,” Mom and Dad are snoozing away when, one by one, the kids come in: Evie is scared, Ivy is cold, Mo is spooked, and Fred—the family dog—has an aversion to thunder. There aren't a lot of comic surprises: Mom is welcoming and Dad remains out cold (supplying snores, “snurkle[s],” and other nighttime noises), as the kids eke out unlikely spaces to sleep—on top of their parents' heads and under the pillows. Despite a massive <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">crack that busts the bed after Fred's arrival, peace is achieved, though the last spread hints that it may be short-lived. Dunnick's big-headed, beady-eyed, and slightly clueless cast are deeply appealing: even very young readers should appreciate the humor in a family's single-minded pursuit of some zzzs. Ages 4–8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

K-Gr 2 This cumulative tale begins on a cold, dark night when Momma and Poppa are sound asleep and snoring. The door squeaks as Evie appears, and the bed creaks as she bounces in. Ivy comes next, followed by Mo, while the door squeaks and the bed creaks. The children drape themselves over and around their parents' extra-large heads. Thunder booms and Fred the dog enters with toenails clicking and clacking. Poppa sleeps undisturbed through the children's entrances, but he wakes when the dog barks. "Up Poppa popped./Poppa cried, 'Stop!/There's no more room for Fred in the bed.'" The final spread shows the familyand Fredasleep on a broken bed, as the floor cracks and creaks. The full-color illustrations are done in acrylic gouache. The cartoon style is a suitable match for the humorous text, which is loaded with sounds. Frequent repetition and rhyming words make this a good choice for emergent readers. Pair this story with Audrey and Don Wood's The Napping House (Houghton, 1984) for a laugh-filled storytime. Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN