I Want My Light On!

Afraid of ghosts? The ghosts are afraid of you, too!

Ross, Tony.
I Want My Light On!: A Little Princess Story.
September 2010.
Lerner Publishing Group.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

The little princess of I Want TWO Birthdays returns in this comical bedtime story! Little Princess appears to be afraid of the ghosts that come out when the lights go out. She begs and pesters everyone - her dad, the Admiral, the Doctor, the Maid. When the lights finally go out, of course the ghost appears when Little Princess hides under her bed. And, everything she says to the ghost is mimicked back to her. The real lesson for children to learn here is that the ghosts are just as afraid of little kids as little kids are of ghosts!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Help ease your child's worries about ghosts by sharing this and similar books. Then, make use of the following article - Talking with your Child about Ghosts: Do's and Dont's.
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Day 14 of the 25 Days of Christmas: Bedtime Gift Basket for Little Ones

The end of last week left me lacking time and motivation to prepare and type up posts 10-13. However, I'm back... and hopefully in full swing to finish out my 25 Days of Christmas posts!

Create a bedtime gift basket to help make the bedtime transition memorable and easier at your house!

Fox, Mem.
Time for Bed.
August 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

In this rhyming bedtime book, children will love the tales shared about nighttime as animals help send children peacefully to sleep. With the help of a mouse, goose, cat, calf, foal, fish, sheep, bird, bee, snake, pup, and deer, children will learn about the night and rhyming, all in one, while enjoying one last story of the day.

Brown, Margaret Wise.
Goodnight Moon, ABC: An Alphabet Book.
July 2010.
HarperCollins.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

In this sequel (of sorts) to Goodnight, Moon, readers have the opportunity to explore bedtime in an all new way! Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book introduces readers to a plethora of items (Air through Zzzz...). So many things can be found in the famous, recognizable green bedroom. Children are encouraged to search for them all, and in doing so, will begin to make a connection between written words and meaning (objects illustrated throughout). The book is perfect for infants and toddlers, as it allows them to be actively involved in the reading without overstimulating them at bedtime.

Rey, H.A.
Curious George: Awake Asleep.
October 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

In this very simple cloth book, children are introduced to "awake" activities before being "sent" to bed with a simple "It's bedtime for you. Asleep." The book is intended to be a door hanger outside a child's door to indicate whether the child is awake or asleep, but you could easily allow your child to take this to bed with them if you cut off the handle at the top to eliminate the hazard!

Along with the tree titles mentioned above, include in your gift basket:

• Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light
• Dreamland: World Lullabies & Soothing Songs
• Pick out a Pillow Pet, appropriate to your child's interests
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Baby Baby Baby!

Get out those bedtime jitters and put that baby to bed!

Janovitz, Marilyn.
Baby Baby Baby!
October 2010.
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Bedtime might just become a bit easier with the help of Janovitz's Baby Baby Baby!. If you have a little wiggly one when bedtime rolls around, this book encourages just a bit of movement by every part of his/her little body, helping get out the wiggles and settle down for a night's rest. From clapping to giggling, the rhyming text and actions found within will likely make this a bedtime favorite at your house! You could even use it at nap time!



If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book

A new take on an oldie, but goodie!

Brown, Margaret Wise.
Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book.
June 2010.
HarperCollins.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

In this sequel (of sorts) to Goodnight, Moon, readers have the opportunity to explore bedtime in an all new way! Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book introduces readers to a plethora of items (Air through Zzzz...). So many things can be found in the famous, recognizable green bedroom. Children are encouraged to search for them all, and in doing so, will begin to make a connection between written words and meaning (objects illustrated throughout).

Goodnight, Moon was pretty much one of my favorite books as a child - in fact, I just two weeks ago found my childhood copy (I believe the copyright on it was 1974). It's certainly a timeless treasure that has been considered one of the greatest bedtime reads of all times and this would be a welcome companion to it! Your beginning readers will love being able to "read" Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book all on his/her own or to you and/or younger siblings. Definitely a must have for your little ones!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Use the two books, Goodnight, Moon and Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book together. As you are reading the ABC version, have your child look through the original text, locating all of the objects found within that treasured green bedroom! Let this be a bedtime treasure hunt. Hide some of the same objects in your child's bedroom, turn on a nightlight and allow your child to "search" their own room from the bed while they are trying to fall asleep!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

The Quiet Book

How many different quiets can there be?

Underwood, Deborah.
The Quiet Book.
April 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Have you ever stopped and wondered just how many "quiet" activities you might be able to get your child to undertake in one day? In The Quiet Book, Underwood addresses just that, sharing with readers all of the quiet moments a child is likely to experience in one day's time - from just crawling out of bed, until they are sound asleep at night. It's really very interesting when you think of all of the reasons for silence in a child's daily life.

Thinking of a good reason you were drawing on the wall quiet
Hide-and-seek quiet
Last one to get picked up from school quiet
Swimming underwater quiet
Pretending you're invisible quiet
Lollipop quiet

I don't know who will delight in this story more - children or their parents! As I was reading the book (silently, to myself, of course), I found myself imagining that I would almost read this book in a very soft, quiet, almost-whisper of a voice to give children the true effect of quiet. The illustrations are rather quite simple, almost as if to not elicit a great deal of chatter during the reading! I try to envision using this with my preschoolers, and I think it would probably be most effective during letter Qq week, or as a read aloud prior to rest-time!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• It will probably be somewhat difficult for children, but with the help of an adult, I'm sure they could pull off making a list of all of the times in which they are quiet - perhaps starting with "listening to a story" quiet. I'm sure together, you'll be able to brainstorm quite a list!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Bedtime Without Arthur

The bedtime nightmares of children (and parents)...

Meserve, Jessica.
Bedtime Without Arthur.
March 2010.
Lerner Publishing Group.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Little Bella has a bedtime buddy she has come to depend on - a special bear called Arthur.

He is as brave as a knight.
He is as strong as ten elephants.
And he does karate.

As readers can only imagine, Arthur has likely been Bella's bedtime security item since she was a baby - protecting her from the evil nighttime monsters that children fear. However, one night, Arthur turns up missing, and in what seems a disaster to both Bella and her parents, it turn out to be a growing-up experience for Bella in the end - as she comes to realize her baby brother, Finley is in need of the services previously offered to Bella from Arthur. Bella quickly comes to realize that Finley needs Arthur more than she does - and quickly returns him to Finley with the reassuring words,

"Don't be scared, Finley. Arthur will look after you."

This would make a really cute bedtime story for your little ones and their security items! The book might even prove to be a look back in time for parents, as they remember their own security item! I know it got me thinking about "Carrie," a doll given to me from my grandmother on the day my twin brothers were born. Even today, 26-and a half years later, Carrie still holds a special place in my heart and rests on my bed daily! There was once a day when Carrie went missing when I was still very young, being left behind at my parent's business, a thirty to forty minute drive from our home. Do you suppose I would stop crying and go to sleep without her? Poor dad had to drive back to the shop and pick her up so that I would settle down and go to bed. Ever since, we've been extra careful to make sure she travels at the same time we do!

Care to share a memory of your security item?



If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Mem Fox's Birthday

Mem Fox is 63 today! She's got a couple great bedtime-type stories and since it is National Sleep Awareness Week, I guess I'll feature those!

Fox, Mem.
Where the Giant Sleeps.
2007.
Harcourt, Inc.

It's bedtime in Fairyland... and Mem Fox takes youngsters on an adventure as she allows readers imaginations to run wild. The book starts out with a child just about to enter dreamland. The gouache illustrations by Vladimar Radunsky have readers looking into the distance, beyond the clouds to see where each fairy character sleeps. This will easily become a favorite bedtime story!

Fox, Mem.
Time for Bed.
1997.
Harcourt, Inc.

In this sweet "good-night" story, mothers of all kinds are wishing their young'uns sweet dreams as they settle in for a night's rest. The rhyming text will certainly appeal to children and the different ways in which these mothers lull their children to sleep, allows a variety of bedtime routines that could be adapted with children as they say goodnight.

It's time for bed, little calf, little calf, What happened today that made
you laugh?

It's time for bed, little foal, little foal, I'll whisper a secret but
don't tell a soul.

It's time for bed, little fish, little fish, So hold your breath and make a
wish.

All of these and a whole handful more provide one last chance for a moment of precious interaction between parent and child before going to bed each night!

Mem Fox Lesson Plans:

• Mem Fox's Unit Plan
• Mem Fox's Ten Read Aloud Commandments
• Mem Fox's Website
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Bedtime Stories!

I'm featuring bedtime stories today - 3 reviews, two of which I absolutely loved and the third confused me a bit. I'm highlighting these today because this week is National Sleep Awareness Week and in my research I've discovered several bits of information that may be surprising to you!

• 3-5 year-old needs 13-15 hours of sleep.
• 5-12 year old needs 10-11 hours of sleep.
• Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep.
  
• National Sleep Awareness Week coincides with the end of Daylight Savings Time. You know what that means? At 1:00 am, this coming Sunday, March 8, the clocks spring ahead - an unofficial start of spring and an extra hour of daylight!

Sardenga, Jill.
K is for Kiss Good Night: A Bedtime Alphabet.
1994.
Doubleday Books for Young Readers.

Who ever thought someone could write an alphabet book about sleep? Well, it's been done, and this book is fabulous! Following a variety of young child as they embark on bedtime, Sardenga shares with readers the bedtime routines that help children embrace bedtime: flickering shadows on the wall, just one more bedtime story, lullaby lilting low, robe hanging on the bedpot... the list goes on... 25 deep until we finally reach Z (Zzz!) and the children are asleep at last!

This really is a wonderful bedtime story, and if it doesn't appeal as a story to you, why not give the different routines a try and see if they help improve bedtime in your house?

Willems, Mo.
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
2006.
Hyperion Books for Children.

This book was kind of confusing for me... I was a bit baffled as to who was telling the story. Was it the the guy in the pajamas on the first page, even before the title page? Was it a second pigeon that looked identical to the first? I'm still not sure, and while I'm sure children will probably love the events that take place, I was left wondering...

The pigeon is doing everything in his power to prolong bedtime - asking for more water, acting as a cheerleader, trying to talk about his day. However, another pigeon (I'll assume his mother) is yawning and desperately wants the pigeon to go to sleep. He just continues on with the bedtime rant, until he wears himself out and eventually falls asleep before making it to bed.

Again, I'm sure children will love the book and I've heard lots about the Pigeon series, so for that I'll try out a few more of them... I guess I'll just hope they don't confuse me as much as this one did!

Metaxas, Eric.
It's Time to Sleep, My Love.
2008.
Feiwel and Friends.

Of the three books I've read and have to review for today, this was by far my favorite. Nancy Tillman's illustrations are gorgeous and I could get lost in the book just looking at the illustrations alone! This is a must have on any young child's book shelf and would make for a wonderful gift to give a new baby! I honestly can't say enough about what I thought of this book.

The story itself features a variety of animals as they say goodnight to their child/children - fish saying goodnight beneath the deep waters, songbirds singing to their babies, panda bears, tigers, otters - all kinds of animals! The story ends as the author describes to a child that while he or she is sleeping and dreaming, all of these animals will be dreaming of "you, my love, of you, the one I love," leaving the child with a sweet, endearing message as they head off to dreamland each night.

Some Sleep Related Information:

• Children and Sleep
• Women and Sleep
• Adolescent Sleep Needs and Patterns
• Pointers for Parents
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.