Hooray for Today!

Reviewed by: Deidre Walsh - Goodall Library, Sanford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 13, 2016

Review

Night time is play time! At least for Owl it is. With her wagon in tow full of balloons, books (yes!), and other toys, Owl, who is not sleepy, sets out from her nest in the tree to find a nocturnal playmate. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much luck. Owl asks Elephant, Zebra, Turtle, Giraffe, and Lion. All say NO because they are all sleepy and want to go to bed. As the sun rises to a new day Owl goes home feeling a bit unhappy. Now, all her friends want to play. They are not sleepy, but wide awake. But since it is now daylight Owl says, "Not now, I'm sleepy." But once she has a nap Owl says "Hooray . Let's Play!" And so all the animal friends do The last page shows all the animals happily playing on Owl's tree with her. The illustrations are wonderful. Muted dark blue background for the night sky nicely depict an owl's world. There is a muted rainbow of other colors to depict the owl and her efforts to find a nocturnal playmate. And as daylight approaches the muted dark background slowly gets lighter, from dark blues through light blues to white for daylight. The text has a bouncy rhyme to it, as the bespectacled owl sets off to play with friends. "Hooray for today! I have my hat. Would you like to play?". Hooray is always in all capital letters and printed in a rainbow of colors so that it is the focus of each page on which it appears. All the animals reply to owl with the same refrain. "Not now. I'm sleepy!" And that refrain is in all capital letters for emphasis. In a market flooded with bedtime stories, this one is a stand out. It is unique in that it does not involve parents and the frustrations they can go through getting their little ones to bed. It focuses on friends and compromise. Pair with "Bear Snores On" by Karma Wilson and "A Book of Sleep" by Il Sung Na for a fun and sleepy story time. Excellent for one on one sharing, not just at bedtime, as well. A first purchase for most libraries. A first purchase for most libraries.

Overall Book Score: excellent