The Prince Won’t Go To Bed! By Dayle Ann Dodds, Pictures by Kyrsten Brooker

The setting may be the royal palace, but the story is all too familiar, the stubborn toddler prince refuses to go to sleep, no matter what. The castle staff tries different methods for getting the youngster to sleep, from singing songs to giving him a fluffy pillow, to finding a soft mattress. But the only thing that finally works is when his sister comes in and gives him his good night kiss. After that, he finally goes to sleep. It’s a tried and true plotline that’s seen its share of picture books.

What makes this particular book stand out is the text that weaves the tale. Dayle Ann Dodds pens a rhyming text that reads easily aloud, and has comfortable patterns of repetition that the listener will be quick to notice. With each offered solution to get the prince to sleep, the same pattern repeats. For instance “they rub-dubbed through the castle/ they rub-dubbed through the hall/head to toe in bubbles/ Lord and Prince and all.” The pictures add to the hilarity of the scenes. Kyrsten Brooker’s style may take some getting used to, as she plays with perspective and mediums for her work, but the results are delightful. As the story plays out, it’s quite clear that the prince may be refusing to go to sleep, but he is quite delighted at the antics of his staff that are trying to coax him to sleep. The prince’s own plaint of “Waa! Waa! Waa! I will not go to bed!” becomes part of the artwork, popping off the page in vivid color, making it clear what a noise he’s making.

Brooker’s artistic style may be a bit difficult for younger viewers or large audiences to follow, given that it’s unusual and there is quite a bit of detail in the illustrations that might not be seen at a distance. But other than that that, this is a great interactive bedtime book, that children and their parents will enjoy. For other books featuring recalcitrant royalty, try King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood. And for books featuring fussy bedtimes, try Papa’s Song by Kate McMullen.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad


The Prince Won't Go to Bed!

• Accelerated Reading level : 2.6
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (October 16, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0374361088

Review: THE I LOVE YOU BOOK

4.19 Stars from 131 GoodReaders

I love you when you give me kisses.
I love you when you need hugs...
Most of all, I love you just the way you are.

I have to say that it's been awhile since I was THIS excited to share a book with my children. But Todd Parr's (of Todd's World) "THE I LOVE YOU BOOK" came today and it's just beautiful. Not only pretty in a physical sense, but it's got a beautiful message.

Visually, the book is gorgeous. It has a thick cut-out front cover with a silver-lined heart. (I know the picture looks flat. Go figure.) The book's title is overhead in matching silver letters. Through the heart you can see a child with his arms thrown out wide, smiling and looking like he's ready to hug you. The artwork is typical Todd-- bright and sunny, in brilliant primary colors.

What I love BEST is the message of Unconditional Love which is repeated in a dozen and more ways. The books starts off by saying that "I love you when you are silly", then it says "I love you when you are sad". It goes on to say what all we mom's and dad's would say if there wasn't so much homework and cooking and cleaning to do. That we love these little people all the time. (Even when they get on our nerves, or we are kranky :o)

As Parr reminds us, we love them when they sleep... and when they don't. When they're sick... and when they are better.

This is just a delightful book about love. Highly recommended for snuggling and bedtime. Good Read-Aloud.

Pam~


THE I LOVE YOU BOOK
by Todd Parr

Reading Information:
Page Count:  32
no reading information currently available
--sample pages and reviews available

•  The I LOVE YOU BOOK is now available as a Boardbook.

Little Quack's Bedtime by Lauren Thompson

Little Quack's Bedtime is a sweet boardbook that falls into the Good-Night category. My children --who really are a bit old for this book)-- loved it, as did their father (and me, of course).

The artwork is cute, and manages to be both colorful and suitably muted. Kudos to Derek Anderson for managing that. And Lauren Thompson does a good job of leading little people to their own bedtime by having the little ducklings doze off one by one.

The story begins with an introduction of Mother Duck and her babies; Widdle, Waddle, Piddle, Puddle, and Little Quack. It then follows through the motions of Mother telling the ducklings that it's time for bed. The ducklings, of course, get distracted by the goings on around them - flashing fireflies, waving branches... -- but one by one they fall asleep.

Besides the kid-friendly artwork, and the sleepytime countdown, I particularly like that the author touches on the 'scary things' issue. After Waddle shuts his eyes to sleep, Piddle, Puddle, and Little Quack see something and exclaim, "Look, Mama, look!... What's that moving in the dark?" To which Mama replies;

"That's the tree that you play beside. That's what is moving in the dark. Now it's sleepy time, little ducklings."

I think this little segment helps children to realize that sometimes even very familiar things look different in the dark.

Considerations:::
Little Quack's Bedtime is an excellent little bedtime book. It's a tiny bit longer than some other nighttime reads; but as we parents well know, some nights demand a little extra time to relax.

The Accelerated Reading level of Little Quack's Bedtime is 2.3 which means that the average 2nd Grader in the 3rd Month of school should be able to read it without getting frustrated by the vocabularly.