In a Blue Room

Starred review from March 31, 2008
If bedtime books were dances, this one would be a pas de deux: prose and pictures partner each other effortlessly all the way to the last page. At first, Alice doesn’t look like a candidate for bed; she’s in her nightgown, but she has leapt into midair, her blue blanket a billowing parachute, her room a pleasant mayhem of dolls and crayons. “ 'Blue is my favorite,’ ” Alice announces as Mama, robed and slippered, carries in a vase of flowers. “ 'And those—aren’t—blue,’” Alice adds, punctuating each word, the reader senses, with a bounce (by now, only the bottom of Alice’s nightgown and her stockinged feet are visible as the rest of her jumps out of view). “ 'Ah... but smell,’ ” Mama counters. Mama offers Alice more ritual things: tea to taste (“ 'Blue tea?’ says Alice, 'There’s no such thing’ ”), a quilt to feel, bells to listen to. They’re not blue, either, Alice protests, but she’s fading; in each successive painting she looks sleepier, her toys floppier, her bed snugglier. The rhythm of the words soothes: “In a blue room, orange tea cools in a brown cup”; “In a blue room, a quilt of red and green feels warm and cozy.”
These references to a blue room are a little odd: Alice’s walls are yellow. “ 'The moon... Mama,’ ” Alice murmurs, and Mama whispers, “ 'Here it comes.’ ” Click! The lamp goes off, and Alice’s room is transformed, bathed in the blue light of a full moon. Tusa’s (Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden
) pictures, on single pages before, now expand to fill both. Alice’s room is blue, and so are the flowers, the tea, the quilt, the bells, all just as Alice said. The stars and planets on Alice’s blue blanket travel out the window and up into the sky; everything merges. Tusa appears to have breathed in first-time author Averbeck’s text and then breathed it out as pictures. The final appearance of the blue room, which sounded so impossible at first, will feel to children like a promise kept. Ages 3-7.

Starred review from June 1, 2008
PreS-This dreamy bedtime book doesn't have a single unnecessary word. Alice bounces on her bed, wide awake and making demands. She will only sleep in a room in which everything is blue. Mama brings in flowers, a cup of tea, and an extra quilt. Each time, the child queries the not-blueness, but Mama whispers "Smell." "Taste." "Touch." And when the light finally clicks off, the moonlight streams in, and in its light, everything is blue, and Alice is]fast asleep. Tusa's illustrations, done in ink, watercolor, and gouache, show a child progressing from Pippi Longstocking-like energy, through acceptance, drowsiness, and finally sleep. Their soft colors and simple lines are perfectly suited to the simplicity of the language. This lovely book works well as a one-on-one bedtime read, but it would also be the perfect final selection for a pajama storytime."Marian Drabkin, formerly at Richmond Public Library, CA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2008
In a blue room, / Alice bounces, / wide-awake past bedtime. And Alice is firm in her desire to sleep only in a room thats blue, so when Mama brings inviolets and lilywhites, Aliceprotestsuntil she sniffs them. And even though the tea is orange, a sip makes her drowsy, and the green quilt is comfy and warm. Its not until the lights are off and moonlight bathes everything in blue that Alice gets her wish. Debut author Averbeck provides a spare, charming textfor the talented Tusa towork her artistic magic. The ink, watercolor, and gouache artwork keeps its eye on Alice while incorporating whimsy and suffusing the pictures with love. Theres just one problem: Alices room is not blueits yellowand although this may be artistic irony, literal little ones will note the discrepancy. The night spreads are so comforting, though, young listeners will be soon nestling under covers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)