School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In this fun, familiar story, it is bedtime, but the kids aren't ready to go down yet. Big Mama Nut tries to get little Hazel and Wally into bed, but they are too busy using their imaginations to be astronuts, playing and singing, "We're Nuts! We're Nuts! We're Nuts." Finally, Mama gives them THE LOOK, and the little ones resolve to settle down. Needless to say, nutty puns abound, some of which may go over the heads of young readers but will surely amuse older kids. Magoon's bright, digital illustrations complement the text to a tee. Pair this perfect storytime read with Marcus Pfister's Bertie at Bedtime (NorthSouth, 2010). Children will ask for it again and again.-Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hazel and Wally Nut, anthropomorphic nuts who live in an impressive tree house with their parents, have no interest in bedtime. They prefer to stay up playing, dancing, howling at the moon, and singing "We're nuts! We're nuts! We're nuts," ignoring Mama Nut's increasingly stern request: "All little Nuts need to go to bed." Magoon's (Spoon) digital illustrations create a boisterous world for the Nut family to inhabit (their home features a ball pit and an observatory), and Mama's "coif" lends her a particularly authoritative presence as she gives her little nuts "the look." Pete the Cat author Litwin leans heavily on nut-related puns (while Wally and Hazel pretend to be astronauts, an off-stage voice announces, "Houston, we have a praline!" as Hazel plants a flag for the "Unutted States"), which give the book a fairly one-note brand of humor as it makes its way to a reassuring bedtime conclusion. Readers can listen to and/or download Litwin's bluesy spoken-sung performance of the book and two additional songs at www.TheNutFamily.com. Ages 3-6. Author's agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. Illustrator's agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Two acorn children keep defying Mama Nut's wishes that they go to bed; finally she gets mad and they submit. This is one of those books that depends on the corresponding (online) song, which gives the rhymes a drive that they lack when experienced sans music. The digital art is peppy, pun-crammed, and illuminating: who knew that nuts had butts? (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
They chant out their chorus: We're Nuts! We're Nuts! We're Nuts! So hyper are Hazel and Wally Nut that Mama Nut has to tell them three times, in an increasingly BIG voice, that all little Nuts need to go up to bed. Missing nary a chance for a pun or sight gag, Magoon casts the little round rollers as their own bowling balls, bouncing off a trampraline and dressing as astroNuts, before, at last, dragging themselves to bed (Aww, nuts!) and sharing a final loving chorus with Mama Nut. The rhythm of the exchange is easy enough to catch, but for musically impaired readers, Litwin (Pete the Cat series) offers a musical version sung by a children's choir, plus an original lullaby and an adaptation of the chestnut If You're Happy and You Know It, online for free streaming or download. All in all, a tasty morsel, and most bed-bound children won't be allergic to repeat renditions.--Peters, John Copyright 2015 Booklist
