Stop Thief! (review)

Deciding that he is now a big boy, young Randall McCoy proceeds to eschew such things as booster seats, bedtime hugs and kisses, and even Mr. Pigglesworth, his stuffed pig. When sleep proves impossible without his plush porcine pal, Randall goes to retrieve Mr. P., only to discover a thief in the act of stealing him. Repeatedly crying "Stop thief!", Randall pursues the robber (via a dotted yellow line) through the zoo, a chocolate factory, a museum, and a fair. After the thief boards a hot-air balloon, a skyscraper puts a stop to the escape all right, but as the thief dangles from the building, "It was Randall to the rescue!" Once he returns home and his parents put their tired son to bed with kisses and Mr. Pigglesworth, this time Randall is perfectly happy to let them. This is pure little-kid fantasy, with Randall's magnified exploits representing the grownup heroism to which many a tot aspires, while the cozy bedtime ending gives them the security they still require. The chase and the ending ramble just a bit, but kids will enjoy following the path that the thief and Randall take through the various settings, and while some kids may question Randall's sudden altruism towards the thief, they will certainly be relieved to see Randall reunited with the adorable, top-hatted Mr. Pigglesworth. Lane's cartoony illustrations use muted brights (appropriate to the nocturnal setting) and dynamic, action-packed compositions to complement his humorous text, and the red-pajamas-wearing Randall is a stalwart, if pint-sized, protagonist. Pair this with Spinelli's more realistic A Big Boy Now (BCCB 3/12) for a storytime about becoming "big," or share it as a lively bedtime read.