"What," said the elephant, "is THAT?""That" turns out to be the newest addition to the zoo, a tiny but vocal baby beebee bird. Deaf to the pleas of the lion, the giraffe, and all the other animals, the baby beebee bird burbles happily on. "I've slept all day and now it's time for me to SING." Morning finds a lot of very tired critters, until the lion comes up with a plan to teach the vociferous bird that "Nighttime is really best for sleeping... especially for very little birds."
Diane Redfield Massie's bedtime story, originally published in 1963, has been reissued in a larger format, with all-new full-color illustrations by award-winning illustrator (and author) Steven Kellogg, whose A-Hunting We Will Go uses a similar cast of goofy, expressive animals to ease children into sleepy-time mode. Pages of The Baby Beebee Bird are cluttered with a delightful menagerie of bleary-eyed bears, snoring snakes, and exhausted eagles. This updated edition of an old favorite is sure to be a hit with a whole new generation of readers. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter