Bright colors, adorable animal characters and simple yet silly rhymes make this a wonderful story for babies and toddlers. Readers follow an assortment of animals on a ship as they go through their bedtime routine. Children will recognize many of the activities, such as brushing teeth and putting on pajamas. The sturdy board book format makes it easy for youngsters to handle the book while older children will enjoy revisiting the classic Boynton characters.
This story is perfect for reading to your child in a rocking chair as the story ends with "they rock and rock and rock to sleep." Perhaps the rocking motion will help your child drift into dreamland as well. Thanks to the many animals in the book, this is a great introduction to a variety of mammals, ranging from the domestic dog to the exotic elephant. Each page is set against a solid color background, making the book a great tool for teaching colors to your children too.
Emily, the three-year-old I nanny for, has always had a soft spot for Boynton's books. This story was no exception. She found the notion of the animals exercising - including a pig doing a handstand - to be the funniest thing she had ever seen. Reading the book to an older child I realized that children don't easily outgrow their favorites, and instead find new things to enjoy about a familiar story. She noticed that the dog and bunny had switched pajamas and that the pig was hiding under the stairs at bath time because, as she explained, "pigs don't like to get clean."
--Abby