Bedtime Story Archives - Page 2 of 2 -

Three Snowy Books for a Cozy Night of Reading

I sure wish I could throw a snowball once in a while, but that’s not likely to happen here at my home in Miami. At least in place of the real thing, I am able to enjoy three unique books about winter. One features a snowman, one is about a mommy grizzly bear and her cub and one is about -get this – a sledding pig. Let’s get started!

Making a Friend ($16.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, ages 4 and up), by bestselling author, Alison McGhee, is one of those really cozy books you want to read to your child in bed on a snowy night. It’s a story about a boy who is dreaming of winter and is longing for a snowman friend. The first snowfall finally arrives and his dream comes true, but soon the weather warms and he is wondering where the snowman went. The seasons change and he soon discovers something important about his snowman friend and about life. What I like about this book is that so much of the story is told through the wonderful illustrations by artist, Marc Rosenthal. It’s just a subtle, comforting story that celebrates the right of every child to make a snowman, come the first snowfall of the season.

Every child’s library needs some really simple books that warm the heart and feed the soul. Starry Night, Hold Me Tight ($12.95, Running Press Kids, ages 4 and up) by Jean Sagendorph is one of those books. Told in simple rhyme, it is about a day of play and a starry night in the life of a cub and his mommy. The charming illustrations by Kim Siebold, done in black and white on a silvery blue background are fitting for the story. This is a perfect book for a bedtime story for very young children.

Can it be that author Leo Timmers was on Breckinridge with me in 1983 when I “skied” for the very first time, and my chaotic downhill adventures inspired him to write this book? Oops! ($5.95, Clavis Publishing, ages 3 and up) is a funny, darling book about a pig that has lost all control as he sleds down hill. He is forced to make instant decisions to keep from crashing into other creatures on the mountain. Young readers learn the difference between words such as “over,” “under,” “around” and “between.” Trained in graphic design, Mr. Timmers’ illustrations are colorful and crisp and very cartoon-like. Both parents and kids will get a good laugh out of the story and are sure to enjoy reading it over and over again.

-Reviewed by Debbie Glade

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Welcome to the World

My son and I just loved editor and author Valerie Wyatt’s How to Build Your Own Country which I reviewed in the November 2009 issue of L.A. Parent. We spent countless hours discussing that book so when I received a copy of Welcome to the World ($14.95, Kids Can Press, ages 0-3 ) written by Valerie Wyatt with photographs by Lennette Newell, I knew it would be terrific, too. In just 24 pages, half of them adorable close-ups of babies, animals and nature, the author succeeds in capturing the emotions a parent feels and wishes to share with their child. It begins perfectly with:

Dear Baby,
Welcome to the world
and all its wonders.

You will feel the sun on your skin
and be warmed by it.

And ending no better way than with:

You will be loved.

While this is not a board book and so must be handled more carefully with infants, reserve it for bedtime when the endearing messages can be firmly planted in a little one’s heart just before nodding off.

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Daddy, You Can Drive My Car

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Mitchell’s License by Hallie Durand and illustrated by Tony Fucile ($15.99, Candlewick, ages 3-7) is reviewed by Ronna Mandel.

With some strong neck muscles, and an eager driver, Mitchell’s dad hoisted his son upon his shoulders nightly to play a bedtime game of “Remote-Control Dad.” According to author Hallie Durand, her husband invented the game, guaranteed to get kids in gear for a road trip to dreamland. The inimitable Tony Fucile added the V6 powered artwork making this a fun-fueled story for preschoolers to second graders with a penchant for running on empty.

Meet Mitchell who, until his dad creates this nighttime ritual, will do whatever it takes to avoid his bedtime routine. Dad, however, has another plan in mind. He makes his shoulders the driver’s seat, his head the steering wheel and his eyeglasses the windshield. Together the father-son team steer clear of boring and head straight for adventure. Once Mitchell’s been assured that his father’s in tip top, road ready condition, the duo are off! But watch out, there are obstacles ahead and no signs to warn the car or driver! And while the horn and brakes work just fine, occasionally Mitchell’s dad (aka the auto) could use a tune up, an oil change and even some gas.

This laugh-filled, creative story may become part of your own family’s ritual so get those shoulders in shape for some serious driving and remember to look both ways before turning the page.

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Born To Run Wild!

CHICKS RUN WILD ($15.99, Simon & Schuster, ages 2-6), written by Sudipta Bardan-Quallen and illustrated by Ward Jenkins, really tickled guest reviewer Lindy Michael’s fancy! Find the enthusiastic Lindy at BookStar on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City and she’ll take you right to where a copy of this terrific new children’s book can be found.

I think we all know how hard it is to get a wee one to go to bed, especially if they don’t want to, which as a parent and grandparent, I know is almost all of the time. After yet another story, another drink of water, another song, how many times have we kissed our child’s forehead, hoping, beyond hope, for not another peep out of them?

Well! What if you’re a mama hen with five little chickies, none of whom want to lay their little feathered heads on their pillows? After mama tucks them in their feathered beds and kisses them for the umpteenth time, then tip-toes out of the room for some much needed rest, yes, those CHICKS GO WILD!

“First they wiggle and they jump
Then they giggle and they thump,
Playing, swaying in pajamas,
when they hear their tired mama…”

Now, of course, like all smart little ones, they fake “catching zees” when mama peeks in the room and is finally satisfied her babies are indeed, asleep. But then, wait for it… CHICKS GO WILD, yet again… and again… and again.

But don’t mess with mama. She has a plan to finally get her babies off to dreamland. And she’s one smart, albeit, weary and worn out mama hen.

After reading this delightful story, I give all of you frustrated and tired and at the end of your rope mamas (and papas, too), permission to definitely try this at home. Then you can drag your exhausted selves onto your living room couch and run wild, also, just like mama hen does!

The very versatile (and energetic) Lindy Michaels aims to inspire young minds through children’s literature. Lindy owned L.A.’s first children’s bookshop, OF BOOKS AND SUCH (1972-1987) where she did storytelling, taught drama to children, had art and poetry contests and the like. According to Lindy, “It was truly a ‘land of enchantment.” She also spent years lecturing on realism in children’s literature at colleges in the state. For close to five years Lindy has worked for Studio City Barnes and Noble (BookStar) in the children’s section and does storytelling every Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

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UP ALL NIGHT

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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!”

andrew_book2-1 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?