How many kisses does it take to say good night? Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

With buoyant cartoons rendered in a bouquet of vibrant pastel tones, Katz (Over the Moon) creates a book as irresistible as a baby's smile. At first, however, the baby in the story is anything but smiling; that's why her family tries to woo her into sleep with a countdown of kisses on every darling part of her body. Mommy starts things rolling with "ten little kisses on teeny tiny toes," and "nine laughing kisses on busy, wriggly feet." Each full-bleed, densely colored vignette that follows depicts an ecstatic baby being coddled and cuddled in a new way: Grandma holds her high in the air to give her belly button seven "loud kisses," and the dog licks her six times while she's on the changing table. By the time the final kiss is delivered on her "sleepy, dreamy head," the baby is utterly beatific--and fast asleep. Everything about this book says "snuggle": Katz's use of flattened perspectives, mixed media and an array of polka-dot, flower and heart patterns ensure that every picture exudes all the warmth of a lovingly stitched crazy quilt. The text should induce readers to launch a kiss-off of their own. Ages 1-5. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

PreS-How many kisses does it take to say goodnight? A fussy baby receives "ten little kisses on teeny tiny toes/nine laughing kisses on busy, wriggly feet/eight squishy kisses on chubby, yummy knees," and so on down to "one last kiss on your sleepy, dreamy head." Each member of the family takes a turn bestowing kisses on the child: mom, dad, grandma, big sister, and even the dog and cat. Katz uses bold colors and lines to accent the flat, yet expressive illustrations. Heavy use of pink, combined with an array of brightly colored patterns, adds to the tender, happy tone of the story. Collage pieces are seamlessly woven into the gouache and colored-pencil illustrations, and Katz throws in some surprising perspectives, such as the mother kissing the baby's toes shown from the infant's point of view. The final spread, which shows the whole family smiling down at the sleeping child in her crib, epitomizes the loving warmth of this pitch-perfect bedtime story. Though somewhat reminiscent of Molly Bang's Ten, Nine, Eight (Greenwillow, 1983), this delightful book has a charm all its own and will surely become a standard at baby and toddler storytimes.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MDCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information