UP ALL NIGHT

 
Today’s Guest Reviewer is Kim Phillips from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the mother of Andrew, 6 (pictured below) and Lia, 4.

Andrew and I recently read  I’m Really Not Tired, a  children’s book written by Lori Sunshine and illustrated by Jeffery Ebbeler from Flashlight Press. During a time in his life when he is normally consumed by stories about Star Wars, Bakugan, robots and superheroes, my son welcomed this change in our nightly reading!

The story is about a little boy who does not want to go to bed because he is convinced that he misses out on tons of fun when he’s sleeping. He imagines his Mom and Dad attend a circus and zoo right there in his own house, he imagines there are toy trains and fish in his bathroom that come to life while he’s asleep and even a rocket in his front yard! He plans to stay awake one night so he can see for himself and catch his parents in the act of having fun without him.

It’s funny, because I remember thinking all these things when I was a kid. I was convinced that all the fun began after I hit the pillow and on more than one occasion my son has expressed similar feelings: “It’s not fair! Grown ups get to stay up late and do whatever they want!” “You and Daddy get to stay up late and have fun while I have to go to sleep!” “What do you and Daddy DO while I’m asleep anyway?” “But I’m NOT TIRED!”

My son was intrigued by this book because he could really identfy with the boy’s plight. Reading page after page he said, “hey, this is what I think” or “this is what I say!” He really saw himself in the story and felt some comraderie with this imaginary character. He wanted the boy to catch Mom and Dad, I think, to prove that we do throw parties without him every night. I admit, I was a little nervous he’d get some ideas from the story, but thankfully our explanations of what we do when he goes to bed seem to satisfy him. I mean, who wants to stay up late and clean the living room, right?