Go Sleep in Your Own Bed

February 27, 2017
Night has fallen on the farm and, as in many human households, none of the animals wants to sleep in its own bed. Pig’s plan to get shut-eye in his sty is thwarted when he discovers Cow sleeping there. Cow is admonished, but after she trudges to her stall, her derriere lands on Hen. And so it goes. The only animal who doesn’t have to settle for her assigned bed is Cat, who gets a plum spot indoors, snuggled up with her young caretaker. Nichols’s (Maple & Willow’s Christmas Tree) digitally colored ink cartoons humorously capture that distinctly after-hours sense of annoyance—there are a lot of furrowed brows and angrily pointed hooves. Fleming (Giant Squid) punctuates her text with plenty of crowd-pleasing refrains, remarks, and repetition: along with the title, each animal intruder emits a species-specific cry upon discovery and a distinctive grumble (“Oh, baaah-ther!” whines Sheep). No rationale is given for this jumbling game of musical beds, and readers won’t care one bit. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media.

February 15, 2017
It's bedtime on the farm, but no one seems to want to sleep in the proper place."Snuggled in. / Snuggled down. / Bedtime on the farm." Pig heads over to his sty. "But when he plopped down-- / Moooo! / Who do you think he found?" Pig squeals at cow to get up and "Go sleep in your own bed!" Cow makes her sleepy way to her stall, but when she snuggles down...she sits on Hen! So Cow tells Hen to go sleep in her own bed. Hen sends Horse packing; Horse sends Sheep to her pen; Sheep sends Dog to his kennel; Dog chases Cat away. " 'Oh, drat, ' mewed Cat. / And she tiptoed to her spot, pittery-pat." But when Cat settles down, she hears something very different: "Oh, there you are! Come sleep in my bed!" And the white child readers met at the beginning of the book and Cat snuggle down in the cozy, quilt-covered bed. Fleming pens a bedtime roundabout full of animal noises, quaintly rustic expostulations ("Oh, hayseeds"), crunchy verbs, and rhythmic nonsense suggesting onomatopoeic movement. Cow lows and tromps; Horse whickers and shambles. The patterned text will have children joining in with gusto. Nichols' digitally colored acrylic illustrations in hues of blue and gray nicely suggest a sleepy, twilit farm. A pleasant bedtime tale and effortless read-aloud with a cuddly, quiet end. (Picture book. 2-6)

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Starred review from April 1, 2017
PreS-Gr 1-Day is done, and the farm animals quietly take to their beds to get some much-needed rest. Pig toddles off to his sty, with all its glorious mud and slop, but finds a cow in his spot. -Go sleep in your own bed!- Pig demands. Cow clompety-stomps to her stall, but there she startles awake a squawking hen. Banished from Cow's stall, Hen enters her coop to find a horse sound asleep! What is going on here? Young readers will chuckle as they encounter one misplaced creature after another. A horse should not be in the henhouse, for heaven's sake! Anticipating which animal will be in the wrong bed next leads children on, as will the imaginative language each animal spouts. The horse whickers, -Oh, w-w-w-h-o-o-o-a is me,- while the sheep complains, -Oh, baaah-ther!- Ultimately, the cat, who takes shelter in its human's bed at the end, makes this story deeply satisfying. Everyone has a place to sleep at last. The twilight palette of muted blues, greens, and browns provides a snug, sleepy background throughout. VERDICT The playful language, the farm animals, the cozy illustrations, and the twist on the time-to-go-to bed theme make this a standout for drowsy bedtime reading. Children will love it.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2017
Preschool-K It's bedtime on the farm, but when Pig toddles to his sty and plops down to go to sleepMoooo! Cow is inside! Cow then tromps to her stall to sleep, only to find Hen there! Hen straggles to her coop, only to find Horse there, and so on. Is no one sleeping in their own bed? There is a lot of delightful language at play hereHorse goes cloppety-plod, Dog moves sniffety-drag, Hen spouts expletives like, Oh, fluff and feathers! in an otherwise wonderfully simple story. The turn-the-page clues that further the story line are well laid out in both the text and the pictures, and the ending is a sweet, full-circle surprise. Nichols' illustrations are done in muted, bedtime tones of shadowy blues and greens, and Fleming's incorporation of the repeated refrains of Who do you think he found? and the title line to Go sleep in your own bed! lend themselves perfectly well to a read-aloud experience, whether alone with a caretaker and child or with a larger group at a family storytime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)