Goodnight, Grizzle Grump!

Aaron Blecha’s Goodnight, Grizzle Grump! is a humorous bedtime story that children will look forward to reading time and again. Grizzle Grump is a grouchy creature in desperate need of a quiet place to hibernate. When he finds the perfect spot to snooze, Grizzle Grump is dismayed by the unbearable noise coming from other creatures in the forest. Grizzle Grump’s determination to find a quiet location takes him from a group of trees to a stream, then to a swamp and finally a mountaintop. The book’s wry, ironic conclusion makes Goodnight, Grizzle Grump! memorable.

Blecha’s detailed illustrations of the woodlands are inviting, and his forest creatures are wonderfully goofy and uniquely adorable. For example, Grizzle Grump, though an irritable beast, is depicted in Blecha’s art as lovable; the large, cross-eyed creature carries around a tiny blanket and a small pillow, and he is anything but scary and intimidating as he scratches and sniffs, teeters and totters, wiggles and wobbles, and flips and flops himself to sleep. The book’s alliteration, rhymes, and repetition encourages involvement with the story. Engaged children will delight in the amusing pattern that quickly develops and will hang on with anticipation for the comical ending.

This is a great book to incorporate into a child’s bedtime routine.