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Time for Bed does exactly what it sounds like it should do: it prepares a child to go to sleep with its rhythmic patterns and repetitive phrases. As readers turn each page, they see a baby animal cuddled up with its mother. Each mother is telling each child that it’s time for bed in her own poetic way. (“It’s time for bed, little sheep, little sheep. The whole wide world is going to sleep.”) As a final cue for the child that it’s time to go to sleep, the mother at the end of the book kisses her daughter good night.
Jane Dyer adds to the book with her beautiful watercolour illustrations of animals such as cats, horses, fish, and bees. Each picture is set against a mauve background.
I’ve been reading this book almost every night for five months, and I still enjoy reading it as part of our regular bedtime routine. The illustrations are so beautiful to look at—even the snakes. And it doesn’t get boring for me to read over and over, night after night. Having it in the board book style allows my daughter to turn the pages (or chew on them) without damaging them.
Time for Bed is definitely my favourite kids’ book—and my daughter actually goes to sleep after we finish reading it.
