Welcome to Morningtown

A chipper animal cast greets the morning (“Hooray, for a shiny new day!”) in this book from the creators of Something Smells! The primary plot thread follows a young bear, whom Henry, in softly focused mixed-media pictures, renders with a hint of a young Berenstain Bear. Dressed in fishing garb, his father awakens him in their stone bungalow while other animals stir. Hellman employs visual, sometimes onomatopoeic action words as the town wakes up. The cub is seen stretching, birds on branches are shown yawning, and frisky frogs are “hopping, flopping, splashing awake.” In another spread, the art fleshes out a playfully minimal scene as critters reveal their preferred mode of breakfast: squirrels “crunch,” deer “nibble,” and hummingbirds “sip their morning feast.” Whimsical close-ups of frolicking creatures—bunnies bounce on a bed and beavers whoosh down a slide into a pond—are followed by a bustling panorama revealing Morningtown’s goings-on, which offers kids a chance to identify the animals and their activities. As the tale winds to a droll close, an impromptu nap by one character (hint: he’s an angler) stalls the day’s energetic pace—but not for long. Pleasantly harmonized words and pictures make this a winsome start-of-day read-aloud. Ages up to 5. [em](June) [/em]