Title: Good Night, Planet
Author: Liniers
Publisher: TOON Books
ISBN-10: 1-9431-4520-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-9431-4520-1
Disclosure: A free copy of this book was furnished by the publisher for review, but providing a copy did not guarantee a review. This information is provided per the regulations of the Federal Trade Commission.
This gentle picture book for readers aged 4 to 8 (preschoolers to 3rd grade) shows 2 ½-year-old Emma playing with her stuffed deer doll Planet in a New England yard in the fall. After an afternoon romping in a pile of fallen leaves, Emma takes her doll to bed. As soon as she is asleep, Planet comes to life. He goes downstairs to help Elliott the cocker spaniel puppy get a chocolate chip cookie. They are joined by Bradley, a mouse, who offers to show them the biggest cookie ever, outdoors. It is the full moon in the night sky. Afterward, back inside eating chocolate chip cookies together, Bradley remarks that Planet is a big name for such a small animal as the deer doll. Planet replies, “Every animal, big or small, is a whole universe.”
“Good Night, Planet” is a charming hardcover 32-page book for beginning readers, with a minimum of dialogue and beautiful drawings of the New England countryside in autumn. An “About the Author” says that Argentine artist Ricardo Liniers Siri lives in Vermont today. The book is based upon his own daughter and her doll, and the family puppy.
Liniers is the award-winning artist-in-residence at the Center for Cartoon Studies. “Good Night, Planet” is a delightful book on the popular theme of dolls and pets having their own adventures when people are asleep, which youngsters always enjoy. The $12.95 price is convenient for a hardcover book for this age group. It is also available from TOON Books in a Spanish edition, “Buenas Noches, Planeta”.
