An After Bedtime Story

February 29, 2016
Not only is Nina not asleep; she’s ready to join the party, emerging from her bedroom in her tiara, frilly skirt, and not much else, in time to greet her parents’ guests: “Give Aunt Ruth a kiss goodnight—/ then back to bed you go, all right?” Nina grabs an iced cupcake then, emboldened, clowns for the assembly and tries bathing her doll in the punch bowl (“Get down, young lady! That’s not how we act./ You’re going to bed this instant, and that’s a fact”). No one hears. Instead, the guests join the fun, crawling around on their hands and knees; walk-ons by Nina’s toddler brother and the family bulldog add more laughs. In contrast to the mayhem, there’s something classic, even elegant about Tsarfati’s spreads, which combine the poise of Greek urn paintings with the everyday chaos of life with kids. Though the translated verse can be clunky and some may object to Nina’s self-indulgent anarchy, Smith and Tsarfati tap into a rich seam of sleepless parent humor. Clearly, as this Israeli duo proves, limelight-hogging children are an international phenomenon. Ages 5–7.

March 1, 2016
Much to their parents' dismay, two siblings crash an adults-only party. After putting young Nina to bed, her parents attempt to sneak back to their sophisticated gathering. Nina refuses to be left alone. Clad in only a pink tutu, necklace, and a crown, Nina becomes the star of the party. She samples the desserts, bathes her doll in the punch bowl, and draws on the wall while her parents unsuccessfully try to send her back to bed. The commotion wakes up the youngest family member. The energetic siblings even rope the guests into their games while their parents collapse in exhaustion. Originally published in Hebrew and translated into English by Appel, Smith's story depicts a battle recognizable to many families. Adults will empathize with the frustrated parents, while young readers will gleefully follow the siblings' misadventures. Adults who are worried their young ones may copy the book's party crashers will be relieved that everyone joins the clean-up effort. Tsarfati's lively illustrations fill in Smith's open-ended rhyming couplets by providing witty visual punch lines and capture Nina's boundless energy and impish antics with a minimal color palette. They are New Yorker-stylish, depicting a white family that looks delightfully real, pot bellies and all. A delightful tale for young readers who don't want to go to bed. (Picture book. 3-8)

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April 15, 2016
Grades K-2 When the usual bedtime fare doesn't induce slumber, why not try an after-bedtime tale? Every parent will instantly recognize the angelic-toddler-turned-truculent-terror for whom sleep is just not a priority. Tonight, adorable, tiara-wearing Nina can't sleep, not when there's a party going on in her own house. Who can resist Aunt Ruth's hugs and Uncle Saul's pony rides? How can anyone pass up that dessert-laden cart? And as long as the baby brother has gotten up, too, everyone might as well party hearty! Translator Appel deserves kudos for managing to replicate the energetic rhyming verse of Israeli author Smith's original Hebrew. As goofy fun as Smith's text is, fellow Israeli Tsarfati deserves the crown (maybe when Nina finally falls asleep and renounces hers). Tsarfati's attention to comical detail multiplies the adventurous humor, from the pet dog with his Elizabethan collar (what mischief did he commit?) and the wide-eyed doll that never expected a bath, to the revealing family photo gallery when Nina streaks down the hall. Bedtime's for oldsters; let the children play.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
Defying her bedtime, Nina bolts from bed to rejoin a dinner party, devouring desserts and causing general mayhem. While the parents repeatedly acquiesce to Nina's actions and eventually collapse in a sleeping heap, the other adult guests rein in the child and do damage control. Though the gleeful pandemonium may appeal to some, this study in indulgent parenting lacks both sense and story.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)