Just Because

May 27, 2019
Barnett (The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown) offers a comic look at that famous childhood bedtime-delaying tactic, the difficult question. Mixed-media drawings by Arsenault (Albert’s Quiet Quest) show a child all tucked in, the light from the hallway shining on her well-appointed bedroom’s wall. Her father stands in the doorway clad in a V-neck sweater and slacks. “Why is the ocean blue?” she asks. A page turn reveals a spread of intricate beauty: kelp sways and fish strum on stringed instruments: “Every night, when you go to sleep,” comes the response, “the fish take out guitars. They sing sad songs and cry blue tears.” The girl keeps the questions coming, asking about everything from autumn foliage to black holes, and the father’s answers amuse throughout as Arsenault’s big, dynamic spreads shift from leafy idyll to primeval upheaval, always in contrast to the reality of the girl’s darkened bedroom. The girl succeeds in luring her father back for a few more minutes of quality time—by the end, he’s actually sitting on her bed—and he offers her, as a final farewell, one last thought to fall asleep by. Arsenault’s imaginative power enhances a thin, nevertheless enjoyable, text. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from July 1, 2019
A child sits under the covers in the dark, calling out questions to a patient and inventive parent. "Why is the ocean blue?" "What is the rain?" "Why do the leaves change color?" Caregivers and children can both identify with this familiar evening exchange. Never resorting to the titular phrase, the dad in this impressive picture book supplies incredibly imaginative, improvisational answers. The ocean's blue because at night, "the fish take out guitars...[and] sing sad songs and cry blue tears." Rain is actually the "tears of flying fish." Leaves change color because "in autumn, when the world gets colder, the trees keep warm by setting quiet little fires in their leaves. / By winter, their branches have all burned up." The exacting, exquisite phrasing electrifies readers, and full-bleed illustrations pull them into an extraordinary alternate universe. The child's big questions hover in enormous, colored bubbles atop a black background with the cozy bedtime scene. Answers appear on a double-page spread that follows, the father's words floating inside smaller white bubbles set on the fantastical rendering. Matte paper, flat colors, conventional type, and a mid-20th-century look to the light-skinned people conjure a retro feel, allowing the unexpected, original answers to stand out even more. Charming, playful, and extraordinary imaginings will galvanize young minds to find inspired answers to their own questions. (Picture book. 6-10)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-A loving dad patiently-and inventively-fields big-why questions from his daughter in this appealing bedtime book. Tucked under cozy covers with dog on lap, the girl begins her barrage of inquiries with "Why is the ocean blue?" A page turn reveals her father's whimsical answer: "Every night, when you go to sleep, the fish take out guitars. They sing sad songs and cry blue tears." The full-bleed illustration depicts a lush underwater scene with coral and swaying plants, fish plucking away at instruments with their fins, and arcs of gracefully spouting tears. As the questions continue, the answers become increasingly fanciful. When the inevitable has been delayed long enough and it's time for lights out, the response to the girl's final query-"Why do we have to sleep?"-gently shepherds young listeners into the world of dreams: "Because there are some things we can only see with our eyes closed." Done in gouache, pencil, and watercolor, Arsenault's strikingly detailed artwork depicts the bedroom scenes in grays, blacks, and soft whites. Each question is posed in a circle of muted color, and this same hue is featured in the imaginary scenario that follows, making for lovely book design and emphasizing how the fantastical can sometimes be so much more vivid than the empirical. VERDICT A charming celebration of bedtime rituals and parent-child affection, this book also underscores the importance of fostering imagination and wonderment while nurturing young minds.-Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2019
Preschool-G Getting little ones to bed at night is always challenging for parents. On the first double-page spread, in tones of black, gray, and white, a little girl sits up in bed with her dog and asks questions. First one: Why is the ocean blue? Dad explains on the next blue-toned double-page spread that the fish take out guitars, sing sad songs, and cry blue tears. The questions continue: What is rain? What are black holes? Her patient dad invents creative responses; each answer requires more ingenuity from the tired adult, but he perseveres. One spread offers 16 more common questions. Finally, the girl falls asleep with her dog, dreaming happily in color about all the topics' imaginative solutions. This is a clever launch pad for curious children and adults. The large trim size and double pages done in gouache, pencil, and watercolor, assembled digitally, are replete with details both realistic and fanciful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)