The story is sweet . . . Ismail's exuberant watercolors capture the energy of a young child, with the lightness of the medium lending movement and energy to the pictures . . .This story displays a thoughtful understanding of its audience.” —Booklist
“Ismail presents Rex's dilemma with sympathy, understanding, and a great deal of humor. . . Sweet, funny, and reassuring.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Expressionistic watercolor paintings, juxtaposing both primary and complementary colors, create a warm, pleasing effect. This book may hold special appeal to young readers facing the prospect of glasses or other corrective devices.” —School Library Connection
“Ismail . . . uses bright, beautiful brush strokes of watercolor to convey the manic, tail-wagging, mud-spattering energy that Fred, a furry black mop of a dog, brings to bedtime.” —The New York Times Book Review on TIME FOR BED, FRED!
“A perfectly designed read-aloud for the bedtime staller. A sheer delight!” —starred review, Kirkus Reviews on TIME FOR BED, FRED!
“Fred's eager-to-please look and the constant trouble he gets into give this the makings of a bedtime favorite.” —Publishers Weekly on TIME FOR BED, FRED!
“Ismail cleverly uses exclamations and rhetorical questions to liven up the familiar lets-get-ready-for-bed storyline. This book works well as a read aloud, as it begs for audience participation, and will likely become a bedtime favorite.” —School Library Journal on TIME FOR BED, FRED!
“Fred is illustrated in watercolors that seem to soak through the page in thick blotches and rich, saturated colors. The effect is a wonderful sense of motion.” —Booklist on TIME FOR BED, FRED!
2015-08-05
A very young lion's new glasses are so big, round, and red that he is driven to great lengths to hide them. Rex is certainly inventive as he devises all sorts of schemes for making those despised glasses go away, or at least seem as unobtrusive as possible. He puts them in the cereal box, but Daddy catches him in the act. At school he uses his mane to cover his face, but now he can't see at all. Hunger prevents him from sneaking them into his sandwich. He also tries painting the lenses, and in great desperation, he wraps his head in toilet paper. But all his attempts end in failure. In fact his antics actually draw attention. But when he locates his teacher's whistle with his newly sharp eyes, and his friends seem to actually like the glasses, he changes his mind and wears them proudly. Ismail presents Rex's dilemma with sympathy, understanding, and a great deal of humor. There are no wasted words in the brief, emphatic sentences placed strategically among the illustrations, and the tale moves quickly to its comforting conclusion. Bright watercolors ably complement the action and provide many delightful details, especially Rex's diverse classmates, all the same size whether elephant or mouse. Endpapers and illustrations make the British "specs" instantly understandable to an American audience. Sweet, funny, and reassuring. (Picture book. 3-7)
