Song of Night: It's Time to Go to Bed

All Ages

Birth - 12 months

by Katherine Riley Nakamura
Illustration by Linnea Asplind Riley

As night falls, all the little animals are in their homes getting ready for bedtime. A young duckling splashes in the bathtub as his mother looks on. Two kittens snuggle up to their papa cat as he reads a bedtime story. A bear cub gets a nice back-rub before she climbs into bed. A daddy bear sings quietly as his baby drifts off to sleep.

Every spread is filed with Riley's gentle, humorous details - the baby bunny has bunny slippers, a busy ladybug cavorts across the pages - and children will find dozens of small images to amuse them and hold their attention while their parents are reading. All over, little animals and their parents prepare for sleep, just like little children and their parents do.

Age: 2 Year-olds | Title: Song of Night: It's Time to Go to Bed | Author: Katherine Riley Nakamura | Publisher: Blue Sky Press (AZ)

Why we chose this book

This fantastic bedtime story was created by a mother/daughter team. The story focuses on eight different pairs of animals getting ready for bed. The illustrations are drawn to appear soft and fuzzy, which adds to a serene feeling.

The book takes very cute animals through all the rituals of bedtime. The rhymes in the book are soothing and sound like a lullaby. The colors in the illustrations are muted and calming. As an adult reader, you will enjoy some of the funny details such as the drawing of mice using "Rodental Floss".

I read this with my niece Audrey who is suddenly very interested in following all the rules. It is not difficult to get her through her nighttime routine, but she was very happy that she was doing all the same things that the animals did before they went to bed.

--Eve

What our customers are saying

Short, simple sentences. Easy to understand, and perfect for a 2 year-old! Each page is beautifully illustrated with a different type of animal and scene. The theme of going to bed was reiterated on each page. The little bunny needs to get ready for bedtime just like the duckling, mouse, dog, cat, skunk, bear, and squirrel. The book goes through taking a bath, brushing teeth, singing, reading, a back rub and humming as the animals get ready for bed. It's so cute! With a little rhyming of words along the way, Buddy was mesmorized and kept asking "What's this!?" as every page turned. I'm hoping soon that he'll start to say "Me too!," and go to bed just as easy as those animals in the book!

--Ashley, Roseville, CA