Bedtime at the Nut House (The Nuts #1)

Hazel and Wally Nut, anthropomorphic nuts who live in an impressive tree house with their parents, have no interest in bedtime. They prefer to stay up playing, dancing, howling at the moon, and singing "We're nuts! We're nuts! We're nuts," ignoring Mama Nut's increasingly stern request: "All little Nuts need to go to bed." Magoon's (Spoon) digital illustrations create a boisterous world for the Nut family to inhabit (their home features a ball pit and an observatory), and Mama's "coif" lends her a particularly authoritative presence as she gives her little nuts "the look." Pete the Cat author Litwin leans heavily on nut-related puns (while Wally and Hazel pretend to be astronauts, an off-stage voice announces, "Houston, we have a praline!" as Hazel plants a flag for the "Unutted States"), which give the book a fairly one-note brand of humor as it makes its way to a reassuring bedtime conclusion. Readers can listen to and/or download Litwin's bluesy spoken-sung performance of the book and two additional songs at www.TheNutFamily.com. Ages 3-6. Author's agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. Illustrator's agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (July)

PreS-Gr 2--In this fun, familiar story, it is bedtime, but the kids aren't ready to go down yet. Big Mama Nut tries to get little Hazel and Wally into bed, but they are too busy using their imaginations to be astronuts, playing and singing, "We're Nuts! We're Nuts! We're Nuts." Finally, Mama gives them THE LOOK, and the little ones resolve to settle down. Needless to say, nutty puns abound, some of which may go over the heads of young readers but will surely amuse older kids. Magoon's bright, digital illustrations complement the text to a tee. Pair this perfect storytime read with Marcus Pfister's Bertie at Bedtime (NorthSouth, 2010). Children will ask for it again and again.--Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX