ViewsForKids: Goodnight, Toes

Goodnight, Toes

By Justine Adams

Illustrated by Camille Manley

Honestly, I didn't like this book... until I read it with my child!

Goodnight, Toes sequentially shows a sentence of gratitude for each body part as a child bids it goodnight. This made it a great introduction to books for my son. I spoke to him often as a baby, especially naming his body parts. So I choose to make it the first book I read to him. He could understand a couple of body words, and his eyes lit up as he smiled, in awe of his own recognition.

This simple element is not the only one I've come to like. It is a calming book. Each line of appreciation makes it a perfect way for an infant or child to end their day.

It beautifully eludes in the imagery that a family can be a single parent with one child.

The images have some flowing, semi-detailed textures, such as in the ocean and starfish and shells. That style was delightful and soothing, thereby accompanying the writing lovingly. But, the characters look simple on these backgrounds, so, my feedback is to add a tiny bit more texture and realism to the characters to improve the overall look. (The cover, however, does this already.)

The colours of the images are nicely chosen, with sleepy, dark tones when showing the character ready for bed, and soft, brighter colours where the character thinks back to part of their day, where they appreciated, say, their feet stomping in the ocean.

It's a wonderful way to end a busy day.

4/5⭐️

Reviewed by Lauren Sims Art