Baby Bedtime

Mother elephant is putting her baby to bed. As she moves through the house to the bedroom, she cuddles baby elephant and lists her baby’s delectable body parts. She could eat baby’s ears, nibble the nose, munch baby’s ears and toes, and so on, all while moving slowly toward bed. Mother elephant cherishes the time they spend together gazing out the window, reading books, singing songs, and holding hands, “but there comes a time for sleeping, and our sleepy time is now.” The book closes with the baby in bed and a gentle goodnight kiss.

The cute story combined with muted, pastel illustrations makes Baby Bedtime an ideal book to read with small children as part of a night-time routine. Bold outlines around the characters and minimal backgrounds keep the reader’s attention focused on the relationship between mother and child. The illustrations don’t always fit the story well—elephants don’t have fingers or toes, for example—but I don’t think anyone but the most fastidious children will mind. Love radiates from the characters, and their gradual progress toward the bed is soothing and sweet.