Huddle Up! Cuddle Up!

July 10, 2020

K-Gr 2-A fun, football-loving family ends their weekend with a raucous routine, similar to the antics in Friday Night Wrestlefest. Two biracial children and their parents (dad is white, mom is Black) come home from the big game on a Sunday night and extend the play by making a game of cleaning up and bedtime prep. In a combination of an announcer's calls and speech bubbles, they dive into bath time, spin through the laundry, and launch into bed, all before the clock runs out. Lively brush pen and watercolor illustrations, similar to those of Matthew Cordell, are loose and light. The family, including a shaggy black dog, make up the focus of the pages. What little decor appears in the home is humorously football-driven (ball-themed wallpaper, playing field bathmat, etc.). Fans with high attention to detail may recognize the light blue jerseys and the name on the dog's bowl ("Marino") as associated with the Miami Dolphins. While the family is completely in love with the game, the illustrations carefully yet subtly show that they are not single-minded. In the end, after a "story time-out," the parents whisper what is surely a nightly refrain: "Open hearts. Closed eyes. Night. Night." VERDICT An interesting take on the sports theme, this playful romp, with a family genuinely delighting in one another's company and celebrating their love of the game, will be popular in picture book collections.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge P.L., MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2020
There's nothing that brings a family together with excitement and energy quite like sports. This bedtime routine is anything but boring as the coaches (also known as parents) help their kids get ready for bed. As soon as the family enters the house it is a rush to complete the sports-themed Sunday-night bedtime routine. Each page incorporates sport terms and, often, football plays as they hustle. They need to get clothes from the laundry (Dad hikes an armful through his legs to an enthusiastic youngster), brush their teeth (in unison, to a stopwatch), take a bath (which begins like a Gatorade dunk), and of course tidy up (all in record time, of course). The family dog even plays a special part in making sure the team gets the ball over the goal line--watch out for "unnecessary ruffness." Sports fans will love the idea of gathering the family together for a "Story-Time-Out" as they settle their children for a nap or at night. Most of the sports terms incorporated are football-related, but an occasional basketball or hockey term helps keep up the frantic pace. Deas' movement-filled cartoons depict a Black-appearing mom, a White-appearing dad, their two brown-skinned kids, and a shaggy black mutt making happy mayhem in this comfortable, middle-class home. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 41.3% of actual size.) A cute read for any family that is missing out on sports (or needs a change-up in their bedtime reading). (Picture book. 4-8)

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