Kisses

Kisses by Nanda Roep. Paperback edition. ISBN: 9780439627856.

A delightful depiction of a universal bedtime routine, told with warmth and humor. When a baby raccoon asks her imaginative father for a simple kiss at bedtime, she finds herself on the receiving end of a string of silly smooches. When Dad plants the lightest butterfly kiss on Lisas cheek, the pair become surrounded by a lush forest filled with blue-shaded, bamboo-style trees and periwinkle butterflies. A circus kiss calls for a little horseplay under a yellow-striped tent, as Lisas stuffed-animal friends practice their trapeze swinging. Ten Cates bright and appealing illustrations perfectly complement Roeps loving text and artfully capture the endearing bond between father and daughter. The result is a gentle, inventive bedtime story that will coax giggles from both the reader and the "read-to." Better still, theres a built-in opportunity here for parents and their children to pucker up and invent their own special nighttime rituals.