Kiss Good Night

Tuck someone in with a kiss good night.

"It was a dark and stormy night on Plum Street. In the little white house, Mrs. Bear was putting Sam to bed."
Outside, the wind blows and the rain comes down. Inside, it is Sam's bedtime. Mrs. Bear reads him a story, tucks him in, and brings him warm milk. "Are you ready now, Sam?" she asks. "I'm waiting," he says. What else does Sam need before going to sleep? Could Mrs. Bear have forgotten a kiss?

Every child has his or her own personal repertoire of rationalizations for avoiding bed, and every parent has a stockpile of counter offensives. In Kiss Good Night, Mrs. Bear covers all the bases: "Hmmmm...Book, blanket, friends, milk...," but her son, Sam, isn't ready. "I'm waiting," he keeps saying. Could there be anything Mama Bear is forgetting? Amy Hest's sweet story, gorgeously illustrated by Anita Jeram in warm, earthy greens, golds, browns, and reds, provides a rhythm to the bedtime ritual that will soon have sleep-fighting tots relinquishing their day to night. The comforting manner of easygoing Mrs. Bear as she comes up against her son's quiet resistance--even while the wind blows and rain comes down outside--is an antidote to nighttime anxiety. A perfect read-aloud from Hest (In the Rain with Baby Duck) and Jeram (illustrator of Sam McBratney's bestselling Guess How Much I Love You). (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter