Mom eventually wins this argument, but even after her son is all tucked in, his opinion hasn't changed. "Bed is boring," he whispers to his teddy bear. Teddy, however disagrees. "This bed is GOOD," he says. "This bed can GO." Indeed, with a few alterations, the bed is suddenly mobile--and boy and bear are journeying down the road, to outer space, where the boy concludes that this is one bed that's worth fighting for! A perfect story for early readers--some of whom may still be waging bedtime battles of their own.
Bruce Degen was an American illustrator and writer with over forty children's books to his credit. He may be known best for illustrating The Magic School Bus, a picture book series written by Joanna Cole. He collaborated with writers Nancy White Carlstrom, on the Jesse Bear books, and Jane Yolen, on the Commander Toad series. He wrote self-illustrated Jamberry, Daddy Is a Doodlebug, and Shirley's Wonderful Baby.
Bedtime is often a challenge. Adults slip away while children are still filled with energy. When a young boy is sent to bed his mother snoozes in a nearby chair as his bed turns into a star-flying vehicle. The cosmos is his, until his bed is commandeered by alien children who have been sent to bed as well. Time to glide home again and off to sleep. The simple story is told entirely through dialogue bubbles. Especially nice are Bruce Degen's wonderful colored pencil illustrations on textured paper. They're warm, expressive, and imaginative. This would be a fun bedtime book for very early readers who will find it well within their ability range. To be frank, good early readers are still a challenge, and that age group needs a ton of books since they go through them so quickly, so this is a nice addition to the genre.
This suffers by comparison to Where the Wild Things Are, and I'm not fond of the art--although an active red-headed boy certainly brings back memories! Still, this would be a good book to work with a child on word-recognition and pre-reading.
Don't you hate it when mom says "Bed now, or else!" One kid in this book has a good response to that: in his imagination, his teddy bear encourages the boy to use the bed as a magical transport to a galaxy of fun and adventure. It's all about perception through your own eyes, and kids reading the book can take a cute from it and treat ordinary actions, like sleeping, into something extraordinary. A Winkin' blinkin' nod towards author Bruce Degen for crafting a kids book where possibilities are truly as limited as dreams themselves. Three stars. I Said Bruce Rocks the cradle!
I did not like this book was written because of the language. The book is about a little boy who would not listen to his mom and go to bed. There was not a storyline or even a lesson. I personally feel like the book was mostly about getting the boy to bed and how the mom had a hard time doing it. The author should've talked about the mom got her son to bed and how he learned bedtime is imprtant for him.
Third book from Bruce Degen I have read, and this one felt like a million other books about parents trying to get kids to go to bed. Maybe this was the original and all the others were imitators, but it just felt like it had been done before and to death.
Bruce Degen, author and illustrator of Jamberry and co-author (with Joanna Cole) of The Magic School Bus series, brings his imaginative creativity to the I Like to Read series in I Said, "Bed!". Reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, a young boy struggles with bedtime, even telling his mother, "No". He is transported in his magical bed to float on the ocean and then flies to the moon where his bed is taken over by moon children. Only then, when someone else wants his bed, does the boy see how good his bed can be as he flies back to his own room to fall asleep.
This title is recommended for first grade, but can be appropriate for children who are reading at an advanced level. It is leveled at a D based on the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Level and focuses on reading standards for Literature and Foundational Skills in the English Language Arts Common Core Standards for kindergarten through second grade.
A rambunctious boy does NOT want to go to bed. "Bedtime is boring," he tells his mom. But when his bed turns into a motocross bike, the little boy is all ready for an adventure. I love the way Degen combines spirited illustrations with very simple text. Lots of room for imagination, but simple words for beginning readers.
This hardback book is a large picture-book size (8"x10"). In our library, that means it will get lost among all of our other picture books. I wonder if parents like this large format size. In the library, I tend to prefer these very beginning readers to keep to the traditional beginning reader trim size (5"x8").
Mom tells the boy to go to bed.... he says no. He doesn't want to go to bed. It's boring. Then he discovers that his bed isn't so bad after all. He can ride his bed like a motorcycle or float it like a boat or fly it like a spaceship. And.... he can go to sleep in his bed.
A cute story about a boy not wanting to go to bed and so he uses his imagination to travel. Geared for early readers with two short sentences per page and colorful illustrations. The author even throws in some aliens. I liked this book.
A cute book about all the places your imagination can take you at bedtime...ride the magical bed as it becomes a car, a plane and a boat...until it lands back in your room and you snuggle into bed and go to sleep! 3 stars