Good Morning, Grumple

Toddler-PreS—What to do with tots who don't like to wake up in the morning? Do you tiptoe carefully around them, or do you wake them up with a tickle and a song? Allenby and Gauthier address this very issue with a patient mother fox who knows just how to coax her own little "grumple" out of bed. Readers are urged to sing the short, simple rhymes louder and louder on each page as Mama Fox attempts to rouse her snoozing little one: "If it only mumbles 'NO', Tickle just one pinky toe/And sing just a bit louder. Oh-Oh-Don't you pout./The sun is sweeping the shadows out." The story ends successfully, with a spread showing the little fox and his mama walking outside amid other presumably grumple friends, such as a bear and his cub. Gauthier's mixed-media and paper collage illustrations are quiet in tone, emphasizing that this is one fox who just wants to sleep. Tinges of taupe, cream, brown, and heather gray are shaded across the pages. The small size, soft padded cover, and sturdy card stock pages make this suitable for lap sharing.