Wednesday, September 14, 2016

#BookReview - Kangaroo Kisses


Kangaroo Kisses

By: Nandana Dev Sen
Illustrated By: Pippa Curnick
Publisher: Otter-Barry Books
Publication Date: May 2016
ISBN: 978-1-91095-900-8
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor
Review Date: September 14, 2016

Isn’t bedtime a letdown? Come on...sure it is. Well...maybe not for parents. Being a parent, I must say that bedtime was a time when you knew quiet was going to eventually happen in your long day. BUT, first you had to go through a nighttime ritual where your child had their own idea about bedtime: How to delay it as long as possible.

This book highlights that great time, after dinner, attempting to get your beloved child ready for bed. And although the reality of it all is difficult at times, this book sums it up in a playful way that both parent and child can enjoy reading about every night!

We begin with a young girl deep in thought in her bedroom, wondering as she stands on her head if a frog can do the same. But just when these wild thoughts are going through her mind, Mommy comes in and ruins it all with her announcement: “Darling, it’s time for bed.” No way! Not yet! It can’t be time to wrap it up and call it a day. After all, she’s flying with geese in the sky, and even though her duck is in the tub ready for a scrub, she doesn’t want a bath yet. She’s ready to visit hippos in puddles, race with alligators, tickle giraffes and a whole lot more. Nature is calling. Bedtime will simply have to wait.

Each and every page shows the mother trying to get in a bath, a floss, a tooth cleaning, a hair brushing and more, as her daughter continues to race through her own imagination, playing in nature and finding far more interesting things to do than shut her eyes and go to sleep. The illustrations are colorful and adorable, while the actual story expertly combines reality with fantasy.

But the most special part of it all? The hug and the kiss; the exchange of love between a parent and child who both secretly can’t wait to spend this time together tomorrow night, the next night, and many nights to come. Mom knows when her child grows up (which she will do far too fast) that the bedtime ritual will come to an end, and both mother and child will then find out how much they cherished those precious hours they spent together.

Quill says: A true bedtime story, this is one that should become a staple for all parents and children to enjoy.






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