Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!

This book accomplishes two important goals: it's wonderfully entertaining, and it gives parents a well-deserved opportunity to tell their offspring, "Welcome to my world." A responsible-looking boy is trying to get his three robot charges--who, like their human counterparts, are full of beans at bedtime--to go to sleep: "Three little robots, time for bed/ Time to dim your infrared." Every time the boy thinks he has ushered them into slumberland, with the goal of getting some shut-eye himself, a new obstacle pops up ("Is something wrong?" "I need my coil!"/ "My sensor aches!" "I want more oil!"). When peace finally prevails, Tarpley (Ten Tiny Toes) and Rocco (Blizzard) offer another twist, best summed up as "Who's tucking in who?" The rambunctious robots will win readers' hearts from the title page, when they swing from a light fixture and bounce on the sofa. But the human hero is equally appealing: dressed in dadlike striped pajamas, he has clearly had an excellent role model when it comes to be being a loving and put-upon authority figure. Ages 3-6. Author's agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. Illustrator's agent: Rob Weisbach, Weisbach Creative Management. (Sept.)

PreS-Gr 1--A boy tries desperately to get his three robots to sleep. He leads them into the bathroom for rotor brushing and shield cleaning and finally settles them and himself into bed. But just as the snappy rhyming text suggests the robots are fast asleep, a page turn repeatedly indicates otherwise. "BEEP! BEEP!" bleep the robots as they report "sensor aches," the need for a light and more oil and a coil, and problems with a loose belt or tight bolt. Finally, in utter frustration, the boy issues an ultimatum: "No more blipping!/Blinking-boinking!/Winking-whirring!/Squinking-oinking!" Of course, they ignore him with a last request: "a bedtime story." Then no more sounds ensue, for the robots have "finally put/their boy to sleep." The illustrations, created with pencil, watercolor, and digital paint, greatly extend the text. The chaotic bathroom spread shows a robot entangled in toilet tissue as another overflows the sink with bubbles and toothpaste and a third sprays water well beyond the bathtub. The boy first rests with a wary eye on the troublemakers, yawns in hopeful anticipation of quiet, and finally lies spread-eagled in exhaustion. Alert readers will notice that a mouse, which has its own bed in the room, joins in the antics from start to finish. VERDICT A delightful tale of bedtime role-reversal that sharp youngsters will appreciate.--Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Greenwich, CT