A night at Grandma's proves far from restful for Little Boy and his grandmother in MacDonald's (Pickin' Peas
) humorous retelling of an old Puerto Rican folk song ("La Cama"). Employing a traditional narrative framework, the story uses Grandma's question, "Are you going to be scared?" and Little Boy's response, "No. Not me!
" as a recurring refrain. Despite his bravery, each time the bedroom door closes with a "squeeeeeak!
" Little Boy wails. In response, Grandma introduces a series of animal companions, with hilarious consequences. DePalma (The Strange Egg
) begins with several silhouette illustrations to a spread, but with the addition of each new animal, Grandma's goodnight scenes take up more and more space, culminating in a full-bleed spread of Little Boy, cat, dog, pig and horse in bed. The dark purple paintings illustrating Little Boy and his companions' terror when the door squeaks shut undergo a similar escalation, with Little Boy's "Waaaaa!
" joined by "Meow!,
" "Woof! Woof!,
" "Oink! Oink!,
" "neigh! neigh! neigh!
" and finally, "Kaboom!
" when the bed breaks under the weight of its occupants. The chaos and absurdity (scenes of Grandma dressing each animal in pajamas are particularly charming) finally conclude with sleep for all. Over-the-top humor and a satisfyingly predictable narrative make this tale one that children will likely ask for again and again. Ages 3-6. (Jan.)
