Good Night, Planet: Toon Level 2

by Liniers

Overview

New York Times Notable Children’s Books of 2017

New York Times Best Bedtime Stories of 2019 When you go off to sleep, your toys go out to play! After a long day of jumping in leaves and reading her favorite books, this little girl is wornout, but her favorite stuffed animal, Planet, is just getting started. Planet befriends a dog, gobbles a cookie, and takes a leap into the unknown. This tender, gorgeous tale by the internationally renowned cartoonist Liniers will reveal to early readers the wonders that exist at night, in secret, after they close their eyes.

Liniers's US debut, The Big Wet Balloon, was selected as one of Parents Magazine's top ten, and his follow up, Written and Drawn by Henrietta, was named one of School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year. Liniers is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, but he now lives in Vermont as the artist-in-residence at the Center for Cartoon Studies with his wife and three young daughters. They have fallen in love with the New England landscape, the house they live in, the night sky, and the family's new puppy, Elliot, all of which figure prominently in this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943145201
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Pages:	36
Sales rank:	939,468
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.31(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Liniers's U.S. debut, The Big Wet Balloon, was selected as one of Parents Magazine’s top ten and his follow up, Written and Drawn by Henrietta, was a Mildred L. Batchelder Award honor book and named one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year. Liniers is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, but he now lives in Vermont with his wife and three young daughters. They have fallen in love with the New England landscape, the house they live in, the night sky and the family's new puppy, Elliot, all of which figure prominently in GOOD NIGHT, PLANET.

Editorial Reviews

Liniers, a cartoonist by trade, shifts easily from single-panel scenes to as many as nine panels on a page. It's a fast-moving, richly imagined story that loses nothing in repeated readings. A fable about a stuffed animal that comes to life risks being a tedious cliché, but in Liniers's skillful hands, Good Night, Planet is anything but.

The New York Times Book Review - Jabari Asim

07/10/2017
On a fall afternoon, a girl plays with her stuffed animal, a fawn named Planet. He looks like an ordinary toy, but he leads a double life. After the girl says good night to him and falls asleep, Planet sits up. He’s thin and gangly, and he gives the girl a kiss and slides out of bed. He distracts Elliot, the family spaniel, from using him as a chew toy with a cookie. Then a mouse appears with a better offer: “Want to see the biggest cookie ever?” (It’s the full moon.) The mouse tries to get Planet to grab the moon from a tall branch, but the plan fails, and the animals trail home for cookies of the chocolate chip variety. The anticlimax offers a window into the logic of Liniers’s world, where toys can live and speak but the laws of physics still apply. The writing is limited to a few exchanges of dialogue, the panel sequences are alternately poignant and funny, and there’s quiet wisdom, too, as Planet tells the mouse, “Every animal, big or small, is a whole universe.” Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Esner Award WINNER!: Best Publication for Early Readers New York Times Best Bedtime Stories of 2019 Association for Library Service to Children Graphic Novels Reading List 2019 (Grades K-2)
New York Times Notable Children’s Books of 2017
Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of 2018
ALSC's Notable Children's Books 2018
​Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017
Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best List 2017​
​Booklist Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth 2018
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
2018 Tejas Star Reading List

THREE STARRED REVIEWS!

​★★★ "A beautiful, original work for one-on-one or independent reading, and an excellent bedtime tale."—School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW

★★★ "There are plenty of stories about what toys get up to at night, but this quiet, masterfully executed comic is particularly enchanting."—Booklist STARRED REVIEW

★★★ "Liniers continues his run of clever comics for kids, with a fun adventure and panels full of easy-to-follow action. Delightful."—Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

"A fast-moving, richly imagined story that loses nothing in repeated readings. A fable about a stuffed animal that comes to life risks being a tedious cliché, but in Liniers' skillful hands, Good Night, Planet is anything but."—New York Times


"The panel sequences are alternately poignant and funny, and there’s quiet wisdom, too."—Publishers Weekly


"Cartoonist Liniers provides exceptional and gorgeous color drawings throughout in a story that is appealing both visually and conceptually."—The Midwest Book Review Children's Bookwatch - The Fantasy Shelf

"Liniers’ thin, sketchy ink lines are complemented by a beautiful watercolor palette that adds depth and mass to his forms, in addition to his masterful use of crosshatching (especially during nighttime scenes).​"—Horn Book Magazine

"A beautifully illustrated take on the classic idea of a child’s beloved stuffed animal coming alive at night."—Comics Worth Reading

"So which is your child's favourite doll? The one that he/she takes along to bed and wakes up to see its face? The little girl in this story does the same, but just that the stuffed animal here comes to life at night. With great illustrations and a simple narrative, this book teaches kids all about teamwork and friendship in a delightful manner."—Kids Stop Press Book Club

"A gentle and imaginative tale."—Puget Sound Council for Reviewing Children's and Young Adult Literature

From the Publisher

★ 2017-07-17
After a day full of play with her toy fawn, Planet, a little blonde white girl drifts off to sleep—and Planet is off to play for the night.Once the toy is downstairs, it hears a sound it can't identify and becomes so frightened it passes out. Coming to, it sees it's the family dog, a spaniel named Elliot, and though the toy is relieved, the calm doesn't last long, as Elliot chases Planet and, catching the toy, gives it a playful, vigorous shake. They decide to go to the kitchen for a snack of cookies, where they meet a friendly rat called Bradley, who takes them on a new adventure to capture the biggest cookie they've ever seen. After their big adventure, Planet gets a few hours of sleep before they're up to play again. Liniers has a gift for wordless storytelling through his art-only panels, using muted tones in watercolor under skillfully drawn pen-and-ink lines that create thin outlines and heavy areas of shading. The lettering is distinct and whimsical, and the lines of dialogue are funny, conveying Planet's personality as patient, kind, and quick-witted. The Spanish-language version, Buenas Noches, Planeta, changes only Planet's name, and though Liniers is Argentine, the Spanish is not localized to any one dialect, making it an easy inclusion in kids' libraries and a perfect matched pair for kids who would benefit from the same book in English and Spanish. Liniers continues his run of clever comics for kids, with a fun adventure and panels full of easy-to-follow action. Delightful. (Graphic fantasy. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews