cover image Good Night, Baby Ruby

Good Night, Baby Ruby

Rohan Henry, . . Abrams, $14.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-8323-6

Her parents say it’s bedtime, but preverbal Ruby is proving elusive. With her pet cat at her heels, she runs away to play with the newspaper, hide in the closet and make mischief with the flowerpots. In his first picture book, Henry provides simple, step-by-step text that invites readers to interact (“Ruby hides again. Where is she now?”) and to cheer her persistence and ingenuity (“Ruby makes her getaway,” he writes after the closet incident). His line drawings and single plane of action are deceptive in their minimalism: the amount of detail (the squiggled curls of Ruby’s hair, the trim on her clothing) offsets the large white space each composition occupies and creates an intimate atmosphere. Accents of spot color add oomph and focus the eye, while Ruby’s comic resolve comes through loud and clear. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)