When I first saw the cover of Simon Says Good Night my first thought was that it was an awkward cover. My gut reaction was that it is a “cuter” version of a “Sambo” character (instead of the stereotypical dark character with exaggerated features, the skin was a light chocolate milk, with rosy cheeks giving it an Italian clown look). That alone actually made me want to read it, as I know I really should not judge a book by its cover. When I saw that the author, Orit Bergman, is from Israel, I figured that styles are different, and this is not a commentary of anything racial. Yet, I do wonder how that might affect American/Western readers.
With that said, this book has many positives and should be investigated. The first is that the translation by Annette Appel was one of the smoothest I have ever read. If I had not seen that it had been translated by Appel, I would not have realized it was (I have an issue with some translations not flowing smoothly for me, but this was very smooth). The second is that it is a cute story of a boy going to bed (his dad gets him ready for bed, tucks him in, kissing him goodnight, but Simon is not ready and plays a game of Simon Says with his toys and imagination). Finally, if you are not familiar with the game you have a treat coming. And if you do know, I think this is one of the only recent books I’ve seen it in, so you get a piece of nostalgia.
Now, the artwork, also by Bergman, has its ups and downs. I liked some of it, but others not as much. This is a “personal taste” kind of book with illustrations to match. Not colorful, but not dull; not overly detailed, but not skimping on them. They have a classic look to them, and one I am assuming might be typical of Israeli authors/illustrators, but I am not familiar enough to say. I do know that when I saw it was a translation my first thought was French or Italian, allowing for a worldly atmosphere. When pages are detailed they can be crammed onto the page. It will vary from page to page, however. Due the end of October/early November 2023, I read this via an online reader copy.
