“Time for Bed” by Mem Fox, illustrated by Jane Dyer
Gulliver Books, Harcourt Brace & Company, New York, 1993, 32 pages, Preschool.
Early childhood should be a time of innocence. For preschool children these years should be one of protection and affection. It is during these all important times that children develop their personalities, and begin understanding the world. Hopefully, these will be happy experiences that will strengthen children’s sense of confidence and security. One of the pleasant ways to build this positive world for youngsters is to read to them before they fall asleep. In addition to feeling comfort from their parents or older family members’ presence, children inadvertently learn how to hold books and discover the importance of reading. All of these skills are needed to be successful in the early grades and nighttime reading is one of the most pleasant ways to achieve this. Mem Fox has written a delightful book for this nighttime reading entitled “Time For Bed.”
The book begins with a mother mouse singing to her baby mouse. The next scene has a goose putting her wing around her chick. The baby goose is stretching his wings and is so tired that he nearly falls over. Then a cat cradles a kitten and tells it to snuggle tight. The mother cat licks the fur of the baby as it falls asleep wrapped in the mother cat’s love. Now, Mem Fox cleverly begins to plant questions in the text that older family readers can ask the nodding off youngsters. A darling picture follows of a young calf looking up with tired eyes at her mother. “What happened today that made you laugh?” This is followed by a knock kneed colt trying to stand up at the end of the day. The older horse asks the colt: “It’s time for bed, little foal, little foal, I’ll whisper a secret, but don’t tell a soul?” A little fish is now told to go to bed and the large fish tells it “to hold its breath and make a wish.”
Next we see a baby lamb kneeling down in a pasture with the mother sheep telling him it is time for bed because “The whole wide world is going to sleep.” The author then continues the cycle of parent animals gently calling their young to go to bed.
This is simply a darling picture book. The pictures are very comforting and the colors are those that will quiet children down. In most of the pictures we see stars coming out and the animals begin to stretch and lay down. The mother and father animals then protect their babies and ensure that they are safe. The poetry and perceptive questions that the adult animals ask their babies are enjoyable to read. I hope that you get the chance to go to the library and check out this fine picture book, “Time For Bed” by Mem Fox.
Mem Fox (1946-Present) is a highly acclaimed author from Australia. She taught at Flinders University in Australia for many years. After she retired, Mrs. Fox has traveled to many countries to encourage reading and literacy. Her books are delightful, funny and her characters show a variety of emotions. One of her most famous books, “Koala Lou,” is a very good example of her writing. I hope that you get a chance to share “Time For Bed” with the younger children you love in your family. Just don’t nod off yourself! Enjoy!
