The Prince’s Bedtime
Barefoot Books
age 3-5, 5-8
Written by Joanne Oppenheim, Illustrated by Miriam Latimer, Narrated by Jim Broadbent
32 pages
Synopsis from Barefoot Books:
Meet a young prince who refuses to go to sleep! The entire kingdom comes out to lend a hand in this rhyming bedtime adventure. There is a hullabaloo of activity—jugglers juggling, magicians hypnotizing, dancers dancing—but it is the wonder of a good story that finally does the trick. Book with CD editions include story read by actor Jim Broadbent.
Oh bedtime. It can be crazy getting the kids to finally settle down to sleep. The Prince’s Bedtime illustrates this point perfectly. The antics the prince’s parents go through to get their son to sleep had my kids rolling their eyes. Not becuase they were unbelievable but because they knew no child would go to sleep if a magician performed for them or if they went out dancing (though secretly I’m sure my kids wished that was part of their bedtime). When the boy finallly settled down after an old woman read him a story, my youngest pointed out that we do that. I love that it also had the women reading a non-picture book, such as a chapter book or other tale, calling on the boy to close his eye and create the pictures. This is something we’ve started doing in our home too, to transition to longer stories but also to involve their imagination.
My favourite aspect about most of Barefoot Books is their illustrations. I love the rich colours and worldly feel. The Prince’s Bedtime uses these rich, page-filling illustrations. The book also comes with a CD containing 3 tracks: two with Jim Broadbent reading the story (one with a chime to turn the page, one without), and a musical track. After we read the story, we listened to the the CD track too. The CD is a great way for kids to experience the story whenever they want to, if mom or dad aren’t free.
You can add The Prince’s Bedtime to your personal library by visiting your local book store or visiting Barefoot Books. Visit our Kid’s Books section for other great book recommendations. What are you reading with your kids?
I have to thank Leah at Barefoot Books for my review copy.