Hen in the Bed
by Katrina Charman; illus. by Guilherme Karsten
Preschool    Nosy Crow    32 pp.
3/24    9798887770451    $17.99

In this animal-themed version of the “Ten in the Bed” nursery rhyme, it’s a speckled hen who cries out the “Roll over! Roll over!” refrain. An unusual mix of bedfellows includes other farm animals as well as a lion, a sloth, a bear, and a snake. The ten animals brush their teeth on the title-page spread, then climb into bed and snuggle in to read. At this point, the spreads transition to split pages (à la The Very Hungry Caterpillar), where successive right-hand pages get progressively larger as each animal falls out of bed until only the hen remains. “Come back, please. I miss you!” Beyond this interactive feature, young listeners will enjoy the story’s repetition and gentle humor, plus counting along and making the animal sounds included as each character rolls to the floor. The horizontal book format cleverly helps showcase the wide bed, which fits all ten animals. The preschooler-friendly illustrations’ bold hues and simple textures are eye-catching (and are the colors and that bedroom layout nodding to Goodnight Moon?). A free Stories Aloud audiobook is available via a QR code on the back cover.

Pubissue-From the March/April 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.