Review by Booklist Review
When the teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, little Prince refuses to go to bed, the members of the royal household try everything they can think of to send him off to dreamland: playing patty-cake, a warm bath, fluffy pillows, pudding, a softer mattress, gentle music. But each time, the little Prince bellows: WAA! WAA! WAA! I WILL NOT GO TO BED. It's Princess Kate who finally gets it right when her teeny-tiny brother whispers in her ear that what he wants is a GOOD-NIGHT KISS. Told in rhyme, this book successfully reworks a familiar folktale theme, adding comic, mixed-media illustrations that invigorate the story with wide-eyed, expressive characters, sound effects and key words in capital letters, and contrasting type sizes. Whether used one-on-one at bedtime or in group storytimes, the book will have preschoolers exuberantly chiming in on cue.--Cummins, Julie Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As in Joanne Oppenheim's The Prince's Bedtime, a prince's servants and courtiers try one remedy after another to try to coax their royal subject into retiring for the night, but he obdurately refuses: " `Waa! Waa! Waa!/ I will not go to bed!' / the teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, little Prince said." Not even new pillows and mattresses, pipers and drummers, or a three-foot high pudding will do the trick. Dodds's (previously paired with Brooker for Henry's Amazing Machine) rhymed text abounds with the kind of repetitions in structure and language that make children want to join in. When old Lord Gerty suggests a bath, he and the nanny "rub-dubbed through the castle,/ they rub-dubbed through the hall," until they think the happy prince is fast asleep. ("No one heard a peep.... But then..."). The fonts grow larger and Brooker's hilarious, cock-eyed collages ever more frantic with each repetition of the prince's "Waa! Waa! Waa!" Dodds solves the problem by having the prince whisper to his sister exactly what he needs to fall asleep: a good-night kiss. Although the book is raucous enough to let kids shed their energy, it comes to a satisfying, quiet conclusion, eminently suitable for bedtime. Ages 3-6. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Merriment and mayhem fill the castle when the prince won't go to bed. From Nanny to the Royal Guard, a multitude of palace servants attempts to lull the young boy off to dreamland. One after another, the adults try to identify what the prince needs (a bubble bath, a softer pillow, a peach-and-plum pudding), to no avail. Round and round they go until the prince's older sister solves the problem by giving her brother a goodnight kiss. This story is laugh-out-loud funny for children who know full well that they put their own parents through this nightly ordeal. Told with bright and playful language and a hearty helping of rhyme ("They STRUM-STRUMMED through the castle,/they PIPE-PIPED through the hall,/a band of court musicians,/bagpipes, lute, and all"), the text is perfect for reading aloud. Done in rich tones, the lively illustrations combine paint and collage to create a detailed medieval setting. The characters' faces are brimming with emotion and exasperation, and the figures fairly bound from the pages. Many of the spreads are encased in gilded frames, adding to the regal mood. A great package for children who soak up rhyme and fun wherever they can.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) In the uproarious and kid-pleasing tradition of Kate Lum's What! Cried Granny (rev. 3/99) and Frazee's Hush, Little Baby (rev. 11/99) comes another story of a household thrown into turmoil at a child's bedtime -- in this case, the household is a castle, and the child is a prince. "'WAA! WAA! WAA! I will not go to bed! ' / the teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, little Prince said." Various castle denizens try to placate him, but nothing helps -- not a warm bath, a fluffy pillow, pudding, a softer mattress, or a lullaby. Finally, his sister intervenes, asks him what's wrong, and discovers that what he needs is a good-night kiss. Dodds's rhymes are bouncy and fun to read aloud ("they JIGGLED through the castle, / they JIGGLED through the hall, / carrying the pudding -- / over three feet tall"); her page turns are propulsive ("but then..."); and the cumulative structure, as each new helper tries his or her remedy, builds satisfyingly. Brooker's illustrations -- expansive multimedia collages full of movement and amusing detail -- extend the sense of growing chaos; especially funny (and effective) is the gradually increasing real estate the prince's emphatic refrain takes up on each double-page spread.From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
"The castle was in trouble. / Nanny scratched her head. / 'The King and Queen are at the ball, / and the Prince won't go to bed!' " And so begins the comedic saga of attempting to get the Prince to sleep. Each of the castle's inhabitants chimes in with his or her suggestion: a bath, a fluffier pillow, some pudding, a softer mattress, some gentle music. Each works for a brief period, but as soon as the entourage tiptoes out of the room (holding their breath), the Prince cries yet again. Finally, he awakens Princess Kate who has the simplest and most effective solution of all. Brooker's brightly colored collage artwork adds depth, texture and detail to the illustrations, while the facial expressions and body language of her characters truly say it all. Frazzled parents who have "been there, done that" won't be able to resist chuckling over the Prince's commotion, the frenzy and desperation of his caretakers and the simplicity of the final solution. A brilliant gift for all parents who can find the humor in hindsight. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
