The fall season heralds two new books from Robert Munsch, that fixture of Canadian children’s literature. Get Out of Bed!, Munsch’s latest, published by Scholastic, takes the idea of sleeping in to a whole new level, and will satisfy his fans’ expectations of the absurd. The story is the usual Munsch silliness: Amy won’t wake up for school after staying up all night watching television. After her family exhausts conventional methods of waking her, they take her to class, still fast asleep, in her bed. When Amy, blissfully unaware of the previous day’s events, returns to school, she finds her classmates all asleep in their beds, teddies under arms. The story works as a sort of cautionary tale about staying up late, and its repetitive nature makes it easy for young children to follow despite its length. The real strength of the book lies in the husband-wife illustrator team of Alan and Lea Daniel (Alan illustrated Munsch’s Good Families Don’t). Their drawings are energetic, colourful, and teeming with action. Each scene overflows with kids, pets, and traffic, and the Daniels’ extensive use of detail keeps non-readers involved in the story. In one classroom tableau the teacher’s faulty addition on the blackboard is contrasted with a confused student’s correct answer at his desk, and in another the entire class is reading Get Out of Bed! This book will amuse children aged four to seven, and may even indirectly support parents in enforcing bedtimes.

The second Munsch offering is an Annick anthology of five early works, all illustrated by his long-time collaborator, Michael Martchenko. The collection features larger print for easier reading and expanded illustrations, a definite plus for Martchenko fans. The books collected here have aged fairly well: they include The Paper Bag Princess, David’s Father, The Fire Station, Thomas’ Snowsuit, and I Have to Go! The anthology makes a good starter collection for families, and offers excellent value, featuring five books for the price of one hardcover. Children aged four to seven (and older) will enjoy the stories, and the book, with its reinforced library binding, will stand up to repeated readings.