Tag: bedtime story

Posted in Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Visiting neighbors, Moonlight Prances, and board books for all!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Be My Neighbor?, by Suzy Ultman, (Feb. 2022, Chronicle Kids), $15.99, ISBN: 9781452177120

Ages 2-4

Hello hello hello! A family of cats has moved into the neighborhood, but they’re still settling in, and want to bake a batch of cookies to greet their neighbors. They need a few things in order to get things underway, though: maybe you can help? Seek and find meets lift the flap in this entertaining book with a playful and chic sense of style. The cats head to each house on their block – each spread in our book – to ask for a different ingredient, letting readers play and explore the different flaps to find the ingredients. Ingredients all collected, the family heads home to bake and deliver the yummy cookies! The repetitive, introductory phrase, “Hello, hello, we are new. May we borrow *INGREDIENT* from you?” eases readers into a comfortable routine, and each animal’s home is filled with delightful little details. The cats have hanging balls of yarn as an art piece, while a panda soaks in a tub, a “nap time” tea bag submerged in the water. The horse family has a coffee table book of Horse Tales and a pony puppet theatre, and the koalas are a STEM-loving family with a lab and a Jane Goodall fan club banner (that reveals a Katherine Johnson fan club banner on the flip side). They’re so much fun, so personal with little details, that kids will turn to this one again and again. Flaps are sturdy but small, so the littlest toddlers may need someone to ease those flaps open at first. Absolute fun.

 

Moonlight Prance, by Serena Gingole Allen/Illustrated by Teagan White, (Apr. 2022, Chronicle Books), $12.99, ISBN: 9781452174068

Ages 0-3

An enticing rhyming, interactive board book inspired by the author’s late night with her infant son, Moonlight Prance is a celebration of nocturnal animals that is an adorable bedtime story. Sturdy sliding panels and pull tabs let readers play with foxes and fireflies, hedgehogs and porcupines, and other adorable animals illustrated by artist and naturalist Teagan White. Pair with its companion book, Sunrise Dance, also by Serena Gingole Allen and Teagan White, publishing in April 2022, for an animal storytime that takes readers through a whole day with cheerful, playful animal friends.

Bundle and display with books like Sleepyheads, by Sandra J. Howatt and Joyce Wan; Sandra Boynton’s The Going to Bed Book, and Isabelle Simler’s Sweet Dreamers. Want to stick with the nocturnal animals theme? Mrs. Jones Creation Station has a nice list of books for you.

 

 

Sunrise Dance, by Serena Gingole Allen/Illustrated by Teagan White, (Apr. 2022, Chronicle Books), $12.99, ISBN: 9781452174051

Ages 0-3

When the Moonlight Prance is over, the daytime animals wake up for a Sunrise Dance! The companion book to Moonlight Prance is every bit as interactive and playful, with daytime dwellers like shimmying salmon, dancing dragonflies, and marmots who mambo. Sliding panels, pull tabs, and movable discs let playful little explorers in on the fun as they move a group of dancing ducklings back and forth on the book’s cover, help dragonflies dance across the pond, and more. The rhyme is playful, introducing groups of animals at play, and the illustrations show the sunlight growing in strength across the spreads; starting with a pinkish sky as the sun first awakens through to a warm light that brings out the gentle color in all the animals and their surroundings. A young boy appears at the end, inviting readers to talk about what they plan to do on this bright day. Great to partner with Moonlight Prance or read alone, Sunrise Dance is a fun way to engage little learners and teach them about diurnal animals, versus the nocturnal friends they meet in books like Moonlight Dance.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Welcoming Winter: Winter Lullaby

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Winter Lullaby, by Dianne White/Illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki, (Dec. 2021, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781536209198

Ages 3-8

I’ve been on a bedtime story kick lately; I must be missing the days I put my own littles (not-so little now) to bed with a story or 3… or 4. This latest lullaby centers on Small Bear, who doesn’t understand – despite the snow falling to the ground! – why he has to get ready to sleep the winter away. After all, he’s seeing other friends running around, like Mouse, Skunk, and Hare; why can’t he stay up? Mama patiently explains each time that each of the animals is preparing for their own winter nap, whether they are gathering food or finding a warm, comfortable spot to bed down. She soothes Small Bear’s frustration by promising that they’ll wake up to a beautiful, green spring, and they’ll spend brighter, warmer days at play. But for now, it’s time to dream. Kids and caregivers alike will recognize Small Bear’s resistance to bedtime, and pointing out the injustice of having to go to sleep while other kids get to stay up. Rhyming couplets add a soothing cadence to a readaloud, and the digital artwork has gorgeous texture, using cool and warm winter colors to bring the story to life. Different sized fonts alert readers to the change between Mama Bear and Small Bear’s dialogue. Mama and Small Bear are playfully affectionate. Illustrations and verse teach readers about various animal homes as we see skunks bed down underground, hares sleeping in a hollowed out tree, and badgers snuggling in their dens. Pair with the humorous Hush Up and Hibernate! by Sandra Markle (2018) for a hibernation storytime or lesson. Author Dianne White has an activity kit for Winter Lullaby available on her website.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Bedtime stories to cuddle and giggle by: Sleep and Just Because

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Bedtime story time is always a great way to bring a day to a close. It’s cuddle time, you’re winding things down, and sometimes, you can lull yourself to sleep with a good, calming story. They can be funny, they can be silly, they can be sweet; most of all they allow you to share some much needed downtime with your kiddos. Here are two recent ones I’ve been enjoying with my kiddo.

Sleep: How Nature Gets Its Rest, by Kate Prendergast, (Sept. 2019, Candlewick), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536207989

Ages 4-7

Animals sleep, just like we do, but some animals sleep very differently. Dogs and cats sleep curled up… when they aren’t playing; giraffes sleep standing up; meerkats sleep in a heap, and fish swim while they sleep and don’t close their eyes! Sleep: How Nature Gets its Rest is a quiet book on how different animals sleep, beautifully illustrated with muted mixed media. The brief text makes for calm, soothing bedtime reading, and the one-two sentences per page makes this a good choice for emerging readers with an interest in animals during waking hours, too. A concluding note asks readers if they think animals dream, giving them something to ponder as they fall asleep. Back matter offers more information on each of the animals who appear in the book, and websites for more reading about animal habits.

What a sweet way to fall asleep.

Just Because, by Mac Barnett/Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, (Sept. 2019, Candlewick Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9780763696801

Ages 4-8

Parents will appreciate this book just as much as the kids do. It’s bedtime, but a little girl is not ready for bed yet: there are too many questions to be answered! “Why is the ocean blue? What is the rain? Why do the leaves change color?” One question leads to another in this story that many, many parents and caregivers will recognize. The responses will make you laugh even harder, because this caregiver has a sense of creative humor with his answers. Just Because is an invitation to the imagination for parents and kids alike, and is an instantly recognizable, tongue-in-cheek recreation of bedtime and its many delays. Isabelle Arsenault’s gouache, pencil, and watercolor artwork is minimal in color, with pale color to pages for emphasis, and wonderfully brings each answer to life: we have dinosaurs strapped to giant balloons and birds, warming themselves by a matchstick that blooms into an autumn leaf. Let this book guide you the next time you’re tempted to respond, “Just because” to a child’s question. Don’t miss this one.

Mac Barnett is a Caldecottt Honor-winning, award-winning, children’s book author who (along with being one of my favorites) creates hilarious, thoughtful, and often whimsical stories for kids.

Just Because has starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus.

 

Posted in Early Reader, Preschool Reads

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs is a laugh-out-loud retelling (that every mom will love)!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

cover60102-mediumSnow White and the 77 Dwarfs, by Davide Cali (April 2015, Tundra Books) $17.99, ISBN: 9781770497634

Recommended for ages 3-8

In this hilarious retelling of the classic fairy tale, Snow White escapes the Evil Queen, and ends up at a house that belongs to 77 dwarfs. They let her stay on the proviso that she helps with the chores. For 77 little men. Not only does she have to remember everyone’s name, but she’s got to do their laundry, help with their grooming, tell every single one of them their own, personal bedtime story, referee all the quibbling – is being on the run really worth this, Snow?

Every mother will appreciate this, whether she’s wrangling multiple children, hosting a playdate, or acting as class mom. I’ve got three kids, and on some days, I swear there are 77. Snow White, I’m right there with you.

This book is adorable, with bright, cartoony illustrations that kids and grownups alike will enjoy. Snow White’s expressions are priceless (and oh, so recognizable), and the multitude of dwarfs, with all their word balloons, will strike a chord with any parent whose found themselves surrounded by children.

Look at me, I’m reviewing this book for parents. But we’re the ones who read them first, so why not? Kids will love this book because it’s flat-out funny, with eye-catching art. They’re most likely already familiar with the story of Snow White, so they’ll have a good frame of reference for Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs. And if you read this book as dramatically as I plan to? You’re going to have a lot of giggles and cries of, “Again! Again!” This is going into my bedtime rotation and my storytime rotation. Don’t miss this book.