Review: Too Tight, Benito

Too Tight, Benito
Written by Janeen Brian
Illustrated by Judith Rossell

Publication date: 2008
Publisher: Little Hare Books
ISBN: 978-1-921049-86-6

Summary/Back Cover:
“Benito Bear has grown too big for his old cubby-hole. But when he goes looking for a new one, the cubby-holes are too high, too tiny, too smelly or too wet.

When the right cubby-hole turns up… it’s not where Benito expects!

A heart-warming story about the classic search for the thing that was never lost, by award-winning author Janeen Brian and illustrator Judith Rossell.”

Reasons why I love this book:
#1: This is a soothing story for settling the children before their naps/sleeps;
#2: The final illustration has sleeping animals in it, which adds to its appeal as a bed-time story;
#3: It has a good moral. Not in a preachy way, but I have a pet peeve of stories that in some way condone cheating or other bad habits in order that the protagonist succeeds at the end;
#4: BEAUTIFUL illustrations;
#5: Although this is a beautiful story for reading any time of year, I particularly enjoy reading it around Autumn/Winter. Sometimes it can be tricky to find books that relate to the seasons, so I treasure this one for being set at a particular time of year. The illustrations in tones of brown, yellow and green evoke the change of season that is prompting Benito to hurry to find a new cubby-hole to bunk down in for the winter.

A lovely story that you’ll enjoy reading over and over and that your children will delight in hearing over and over.

5/5


Review written by team_s