Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-A child's bedtime and all the transitions that go with it is truly one of parents' greatest challenges. Going from crib to bed can be especially trying. This work tells the story of one little boy's troubled night of adapting to his "big-kid" bed. Initially, there is great excitement at the prospect of sleeping in his cool new cot with its dinosaur-shaped headboard. As darkness settles, what once seemed friendly now appears scary. His parents' room seems like a safe refuge until Dad's snoring and Mom's cold feet prompt the little guy to give his new space one more try. He tentatively returns to his room and happily realizes that his own cozy bed is the best place to be. VERDICT With enjoyable rhyming text and colorful engaging illustrations, this title is sure to be helpful for young ones facing slumber time challenges.-Mary Jennings, Camano Island Library, WA © Copyright 2017. 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
An exuberant child is excited to try his big-kid bed until a scary shadow breaks his confidence. Bright candy colors give way to dark, moonlit spreads as the child tiptoes through his home seeking comfort. Despite the text's clunky, forced rhymes, parents may share this model of successful self-soothing with their newly big kids working toward this developmental transition. (c) Copyright 2018. 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
Fears of a new bed can be complicated when a dinosaur's added to the mix. The light-skinned child narrator at the heart of this rhyming text is thrilled to pieces by a new big-kid bed with a dino-shaped headboard, received as a birthday present. Eager and excited to use it, at last the child is tucked in nice and snug. But what's this? The moonlight casts a scary dino shadow on the wall, and suddenly this bed is the last place the tot wants to be. Trying to bunk with Rover, Grandma, and then Mom and Dad doesn't helpit's impossible to get to sleep. All ends happily when the kid finally returns to bed to find that the moon has gone away, taking the shadow with it. What precise fears are meant to be allayed here is unclear. While many kids can identify with the nervousness of transferring to a "big-kid bed" (falling out, getting lost in it, the height, etc.), few will be facing the additional phobia of dinosaur-headboard shadows. Why compound fears of bedtime unnecessarily? Additionally, since the moon's movements erase the problem independently, the protagonist doesn't even psychologically work through the fear. To accompany the jaunty rhymes, Morley's upbeat art aims for jolly rather than scary. The endpapers hint that the child's shadow possibly cavorts with the dinosaur's, though this remains unclear. A big-time missed opportunity. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
