Again!
Little Cedric the dragon’s preparations for bedtime include a ritual familiar to parents everywhere: a story and a child’s plea to read it “Again!” When his mother first reads the storybook—the text of which appears throughout—she recounts the tale of Cedric the dragon, who has nocturnal adventures and never, ever goes to bed. When Cedric insists that she read it “Again!” mom obliges but changes the text to read “Cedric SHOULD be asleep,” while the third iteration includes “Cedric the dragon’s a big sleepyhead.” By the fourth reading, mom starts snoring on the job. That’s when our cute green dragon, wide awake and furious, turns red and lets out a roar—burning a hole right through both the storybook and through also the physical book (a die-cut extends through the boards of the back cover.) Gravett takes a slight idea and builds cleverly upon it to offer a fresh take on a familiar scenario. Hand Geoffrey Kloske’s Once upon a Time, the End (Asleep in 60 Seconds) (2005) to kids and parents who get a kick out of this one. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ann Kelley