Night Night, Groot

Starred review from February 15, 2017
It's time for bed, Baby Groot--but Rocket Raccoon thinks otherwise!Gamora reads a bedtime story to baby Groot in his flowerpot: "Night night, Groot, it's time for bed. / Time to rest your sleepy head. // The day was long and filled with fun. / Think of all the things you've done." Rocket grabs Groot's hand and tells him the Earth is in danger. They run past Captain America and the other Avengers to their spaceship and blast off while the bedtime story continues. In action-filled spreads, they attack bad guys with the help of Red Hulk and She Hulk. More bad guys get kicked and beaten when Thor and Black Panther help out. Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, and the Guardians of the Galaxy team join the fight, and the night is won! "The day is now done and super friends say... / Night night, Groot. / You've had a wonderful day." Deneen's narrative has a consciously genre-appropriate anodyne text, but Rocket's asides in speech bubbles and Groot's "I am Groot"s will elicit more giggles and cheers than sleep--not to mention the energetic sound effects. Peopled with the stars of the Marvel universe, each brightly colored double-page spread of bad-guy bopping has at least one cameo or visual joke. All the superheroes and even the villains are just as supercute as baby Groot. A title comics aficionados will snap up in order to groom the next generation of fandom--even if they don't have a next generation yet. (Picture book. 3-5)

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