PreS?Bright, engaging paintings depict 12 urban families preparing to venture out into the winter night for a bedtime storyhour at the library. Differences in environments, family structure, ethnicity?and pajamas?serve to underscore the universality of the efforts needed to take young children out into cold weather and the affection of the families who care for them. Shifting perspectives contrast the youngsters and their busy households with the quietness of the library as Miss Lee prepares for the program, a technique similarly applied in Joseph Slate's Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten (Dutton, 1996). Mixed-media illustrations effectively convey both the energy and emotions of the youngsters and the serenity of a snowy winter night in the city. A mildly repetitious text creates similar security by posing questions and answering them with verbal and pictorial lists of activities necessary to coax reluctant children into pajamas and winter clothes. Unfortunately, the repeated reference to "babies" is problematic; the youngsters depicted are actually toddlers or young preschoolers, and most children that age will be quick to point out that they are no longer babies. If young audiences can overlook this lapse, they will enjoy this book alone or in a group, as there are many opportunities for interaction with such a lively story.?Tana Elias, Meadowridge Branch Library, Madison, WI

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