Bean's Night (by Sarah Hines-Stephens)

Bean is a typical feline who sleeps by day and plays all night. Bean's source of entertainment is a pink toy mouse, which he avidly plays with. The action is described in simple two-word (subject-verb) sentences such as "Bean scrambles" and "Bean dives." The illustrator uses light and dark shades to depict the difference in lighting between day and night.

A playful black cat named Bean busily pursues a toy mouse in this durable board book. Children may recognize the amusing leaps and scrambles if there is a cat in the family. The concept of day and night is introduced along with the nocturnal nature of cats. The text consists of two-word sentences describing Bean's every move, and older toddlers may choose to join in the read-aloud once the text becomes familiar.

The dark illustrations are well composed and accurately depict Bean at play as he creeps, hides, scrambles, and sleeps. The mouse is a bright pink color, indicating it is only a toy. Shading in variations from gray to blue are used to distinguish daytime from nighttime.