"No, No, NO!!" If that's the response you get when it's time for bed, bedtime board books may be just what you need to encourage your sleepyhead to go to bed. One of the nice things about board books is that they are designed for heavy use. You don't have to worry about your child inadvertently ripping the pages. After an adult has read to them, many small children like to "read" books to themselves until they go to sleep. Board books, with their sturdy cardboard pages, are perfect for this.
The words of Australian writer Mem Fox are complemented by the charming watercolors of artist Jane Dyer. The text has a pleasant, rhythmic style. On every double page, there is a sentence in rhyme about a little animal being told it's time for bed, along with a lovely watercolor of the baby animal and its mother. The animals include a little mouse, goose, calf, lamb, bird, bee, puppy, foal, and a deer. The last page shows a child in bed for the night.
This gentle story by Margaret Wise Brown was illustrated by Jean Charlotte. The hardcover, picture book version of this book was designated a Caldecott Honor Book for 1944. The colored pencil illustrations, with their muted palette, are very appealing. Like "Time for Bed" this book focuses on animals as it illustrates that living creatures everywhere need sleep, but it also emphasizes that the day's activities cease at night as cars and trucks go into the garage and sailboats stop sailing.
Goodnight Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, has become a classic. The story features a little rabbit in his crowded bedroom at bedtime. The first half of the book describes, very simply, all of the things in the rabbit's bedroom. Next, the little rabbit slowly prepares for bed by saying goodnight one by one to each occupant and thing in his room. The text features repetition and rhyming phrases, both of which are appealing and calming to young children.
I was first attracted to Amy Hest's
Kiss Good Night by Anita Jeram's cover art, in rich and dense acrylics, of a mother bear kissing her cub goodnight as he lay tucked in his bed. The story is a simple one. When Mrs. Bear asks her cub, Sam, if he's ready to go to sleep, he replies, "Oh, no. I'm waiting." After trying a number of things and getting the same response, Mrs. Bear realizes he is waiting for his good night kiss. (Candlewick Press, 2001, board book with toy: 2004. ISBN: 0763620947)
Richard Scarry's Good Night, Little Bear is a delightful book. Father Bear carries Little Bear to bed on his shoulders, then pretends he doesn't know where Little Bear is. Amid much hilarity, he searches all over for Little Bear until he finds him by looking in the mirror. It's hard to read this book without giggling. (Golden Books, 1962, renewed 1989, First Little Golden Treasures Edition: 2004. ISBN: 037582400)
Peggy Rathmann's book
Good Night Gorilla will also give you the giggles. The zookeeper goes around locking the cages of the zoo's animals, not realizing he is being followed by a little gorilla who unlocks each cage he has just locked. The animals follow him home and go to bed in his bedroom. When his wife wakes up and sees them, she walks them all back to their cages where they all stay, except for the gorilla and a little mouse who quietly follow her home. (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1994. ISBN: 0399230033)
Artist Sylvia Long has created a new version of the traditional lullaby
Hush Little Baby and illustrated it with charming artwork featuring a mother rabbit and her child. The text and the loving illustrations emphasize the enjoyment to be found in the beauties of nature, books, and music. (Chronicle Books, 1997, board book version: 2002. ISBN: 0811822907)
Not only is this one of Rosemary Wells' delightful books about Max and his sister, Ruby, it is also a touch-and-feel book with more than a dozen different textures to enjoy. Ruby is trying to put her baby brother, Max, to bed, but there are an awful lot of distractions keeping the little rabbit from settling down. (Viking, A Division of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2000. ISBN: 0670887072)
John Butler's rhyming text and striking paintings of animals, from birds and monkeys to lions and kangaroos, focus on the animals and their babies as they get ready to sleep. The first painting shows a nestful of active birds and the last, a nestful of sleeping birds. (Peachtree Publisher, Ltd., 2002, board book version: 2003. ISBN: 1561452971)
The simple text and spare bright colored illustrations will appeal to babies as well as toddlers. Spot prepares for bed after a very busy day. Before he goes to sleep, the dog enjoys a bath and a story. This is one of a number of books about Spot written and illustrated by Eric Hill. (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999. ISBN: 0399233997)
Please let me know about the bedtime board books that your children have enjoyed. Just click on the headline above and join our discussion on the About Children's Books Forum.
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