Review - William Wakes Up

William Wakes Up (William #2)
by Linda Ashman
illustrated by Chuck Groenink
Date: 2019
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

William and his animal friends have had the whole winter to nap. Now it's time for them to wake up and welcome a very special guest. There's lots to do to get ready, from scrubbing the floors to decorating the house to baking a tasty treat. But it's so hard to leave a cozy bed.... Will everyone get up in time to do their part? This book's gentle rhymes and humorous illustrations full of signs of spring will make it a little easier to wait for the first warm days of the season.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

William Wakes Up is a cute rhyming story about a little boy and his animal friends. Winter is over, and because everybody's been napping for so long, there's lots to do. William has a very special guest arriving, so he needs to take care of a few things. A cake needs to be baked, the house needs to be cleaned, and decorations need to be put out. As William asks for help, his friends pull themselves out of bed one by one and take on a specific task. But there's still more to do, which leads to a bit of resentment directed at the one animal who'd rather just nap. Eventually, though, even this lazy friend realizes that he needs to do his part, and everyone enjoys the celebration--and the new spring--with the special guest.

The rhymes and meter are surprisingly good here (although, it's a little bit sad that it's so surprising; I think that says something about the quality of rhyming picture books overall). There are repeating refrains, and a countdown of the animals, which young children will probably enjoy. Groenink's pictures complement the story well. (Although I'm not a particular fan of his work, the illustrations here are fairly cute and will appeal to those who like a bit of whimsy in their picture books.)

Overall, this is a nice celebration of spring and friendship, along with a little lesson about helping out and doing your share of the work (especially if you expect to enjoy the fruits of all of that labour).

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.86 out of 5