Charley's First Night (review)

When Henry brings his new puppy home, his parents are very clear on the rules: Henry will be responsible for walking and feeding Charley, and Charley will be sleeping in the kitchen. The first part is fine with Henry, who can't wait "to feed Charley every day forever," but the second doesn't go so well ("The crying started in the middle of the night, and you knew right away it was Charley"). Henry tries his best to follow his parents' dictate, but his soothing of his beloved pup ends up with them back in Henry's room, and "we both fell asleep on my bed." This is a tender little story that draws its weight not from event but from emotional resonance. It's got elements of a classic bedtime story, but it puts the child in the position of caretaker and comforter, and the softspoken intimacy of Hest's prose shines with Henry's protective love, an affection that's simultaneously kidlike and parental. It's hard to imagine anybody better suited to illustrating such a story than Oxenbury, whose gentle watercolor and pencil illustrations capture worlds of individuality and domestic realism in every gesture and detail. The layout draws on soft gray frames to balance text against art, with spot art alongside the text providing additional glimpses of boy and dog. Wee yellow Charley (and, in one spot illustration, weeing yellow Charley), who beams with trust as he wiggles around his new home and flops in Charley's arms, is sure to elicit the same response from audiences that he does from Henry. The special relationship, with boy and dog watching the moonlight together while the adults sleep, is exactly why youngsters yearn for pets, and this cozy bedtime story will be perfect to share with kids as they snuggle up to their own purring or tail-wagging charges.