Bedtime at Bessie and Lil’s

Two bunnies strain their mother’s patience in a story powered by impetuous dialogue and Gudeon’s (Me and Meow) spry ink-and-gouache pictures. As Mama reads a bedtime story, Lil snuggles into her lap, but Bessie practices headstands and interrupts when the mother in the book tucks her little ones into bed. “I really like the word tuck,” Bessie muses. “I want to say it ten times fast.” Lil complains, “Can we read?” but soon becomes distracted herself; prompted by another line in the storybook, Lil demonstrates her skipping skills, and Bessie joins in. Tired of scolding, Mama finishes the story alone, but frets again when the bunnies insist on kissing their baby sibling goodnight (“Please, please, please don’t wake the baby”). Although oddly pixelated in places, Gudeon’s illustrations match the understated humor of Sternberg’s (Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie) true-to-life take on bedtime. The artist used tea bags to tint the muted, crackled pages of Mama’s well-worn storybook, creatively demarcating that placid setting from the sisters’ high-energy world. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Mar.)