Sleepy Time Olie

Rolie-Polie-round illustration style add up to a winning format with proven success.

PreS-Gr 2-The robot family introduced in Rolie Polie Olie (2001) and Snowie Rolie (2000, both HarperCollins) is back. When it is time for bed, Olie is used to his special routine: "Happy Pappy, warm and wise,/reads lullabies and hushabies/beneath the sleepy Rolie skies." The little one is worried when the elder robot arrives late one evening, feeling old and discombobulated: "I bonked my head./I just fell down./I broke my smile./I can't unfrown.- My step has not a bit of spring,/my hip has no hooray.-My cheeks do not feel cheeky./My red-letter day has grayed." Olie tries to cheer him up by building "a super silly ray" made out of a funny bone, a hopscotch hop, a book of jokes, and a loud hiccup. One dose of the "Pappy pick-me-up" and the robot is dancing in bubbles and feeling young again. The computer-enhanced illustrations are awash in eye-popping color and the dark backgrounds enhance the three-dimensional effect. The simple, sweet tale about this extended robot family is enlivened by Joyce's signature offbeat images and catchy rhymes.

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.