Book 257

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld, Chronicle Books 2011.

My son turned five about two weeks ago.  He got a "Big Dig" from my husband's parents.  He sits on the seat and he can dig holes in the sandbox with the big, construction-like shovel.  All that is great, except he doesn't have a sandbox.  I set him to work on the weeds in the garden -- with rather disastrous results. 

A few days after his birthday, my son received this book from a friend of mine.  He recognized the "Big Dig" right away, and immediately told me a story about a shovel and the moon and the stars.  The story is great.  The text is good, especially since it is a debut book -- the rhyming scheme goes off occasionally, but not irretrievably.  The illustrations, however, are phenomenal. 

The illustrations have a wonderful retro feel; they are soft, but bright and friendly, and with a healthy dose of humor.  In all, my favorite kind of illustrations.

Thomas' Second 99th Story

99.     Once upon a time, it was raining.  The clouds moved up and down, and made rain.  A big storm was coming. 

“Oh, no!” said Thomas.  “I can’t see the sky!  There is too much rain.  And the clouds closed up the sky.”

The End. 

Thomas' Second 98th Story

98.     Once upon a time, the fish were sick.  They stayed in the water and turned into sharks.  But they couldn’t swim – they were sick.

The End.

Thomas' Second 97th Story

97.     Once upon a time, there was a monkey in the drum.  He was changing the lights.  Bad monkey.  Someone turned on the train.  I think it was the monkey.

The End. 

Thomas' Second 96th Story

96.     Once upon a time, a storm was coming.  It was a big storm.  This was very bad.  Daddy was at work.  He was wearing a red shirt with orange boots.

The End

Thomas' Second 95th Story

95.     Once upon a time, there was a Thomas named Thomas.  He lived in the space shuttle.  With the cats.  Because the cats were afraid of water.

The End. 

Thomas' Second 94th Story

94.     Once upon a time, the penguin lost his light.  A Thomas named Thomas found it.  By laughing.  Silly Thomas.

The End.