Sun Is Falling, Night Is Calling

Rhyming text and illustrations describe the day's end as a mother puts her child to bed.

In spare, gently cadenced verse, newcomer Leuck beckons readers into the soothing rituals of nighttime. "Day is done, / the sun is falling. / Mama says, / 'The night is calling.' / Dusk's around us, / night is near. / Mama says, / 'Come snuggle here.' " A mother rabbit guides her young charge to bed across familiar, universal territory: a story, a song, a teddy bear, a peeping moon, a wish for sweet dreams. Much like the comforting sequences of the bedtime genre classic Goodnight Moon , the simple catalogue of events and items is easily memorized and predicted. Eitan's ( No Milk! ) charming yet subtly sophisticated artwork enhances the book's appeal, and guards it from the cuteness that plagues many of its kin. Vibrant swaths of color blanket each page, accentuated by the bright white of the rabbits' fur. A skillfully applied thin red line adds strokes of detail and definition. The pastel blue sky deepens into rich greens and slates as night approaches. Tired readers may want to snuggle right in, too. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 2-4. Bearing a passing resemblance to Goodnight, Moon with its rabbit characters and cozy bedtime theme, this picture book portrays a loving Mama and her bunny child at bedtime. Rhyming couplets tell of the coming of night and the comforting bedtime ritual that soothes the bunny into sleep. The distinctive artwork features overlaid blocks of flat colors in muted shades and uses lines for shape, emphasis, and occasionally patterns. A distinctive picture book for young children. Carolyn Phelan