GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT

Grandma Bear isn't having any luck coaxing her grandson into dreamland. Then she hits upon the idea of telling Archie all about his mommy when she was a cub. The older bear makes sure to include just enough titillating "naughty things" to show that Mommy wasn't always an upstanding citizen: two spot illustrations show the girl cub eating oatmeal from a bowl jauntily perched upside-down on her head, and bouncing on the bed while the feathers fly. Then, as Grandma reminisces about the bedtime techniques she used way back when (a special tuck-in, a forehead stroke, a kiss followed by "Good night, sleep tight"), Archie realizes that his mommy does the same thing with him today, and happily drifts off to sleep. Tyger (The Wide-Mouthed Frog ), the nom de plume of a three-artist team, works in subdued, downy watercolors that emphasize how Grandma's loving, ample girth envelops the plump little Archie like a comforter. Freeman's (Hushabye Lily ) language, with its familiar words and rhythms, resonates with security and affection. The word "sleepy" serves as a kind of refrain throughout the text, and although it's used to described what Archie is not, it functions as a subliminal (and effective) soporific. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)