About the Holiday

Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best things you can do for yourself. But a long, deep sleep can be so elusive. Today’s holiday was established to spotlight the issues of sleep problems and offer the latest findings in medication and management options. A restful night’s sleep often begins with a pre-bedtime routine that’s relaxing and prepares you for sleep. Children also benefit from nighttime routines. One of the best is bedtime storytime!

My Bed

By Anita Bijsterbosch

The sky is dark and the stars are out. Reindeer, Bear, Hare, Fox, Bunny, Mouse and Mouse, and Mole and Mole have been playing, but their eyes are getting droopy. It’s time for everyone to sleep. “‘Time to go to bed!’ Reindeer says.” She makes her way to the little white bed with the pink blanket, takes off her blue slippers, and begins to snooze. But her head, propped up with pillows, hangs off one end, and his back legs hang off the other. It makes you wonder: “…is this really Reindeer’s bed?”

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“No! This is Raccoon’s bed.” Raccoon hangs her pink hat on the bedpost and tucks her pink slippers next to the bed. Then she climbs under the pink blanket and goes to sleep. “Good night, Raccoon.” Reindeer says. Now Reindeer remembers! She sleeps in the top bed of the red bunk bed. She climbs in and pulls up the green blanket with yellow dots and the pink blanket with light pink dots. But they’re so small they don’t cover her at all.

But this isn’t Reindeer’s bed either. The top bunk is Mole’s, and after she hangs her pink hat with the light pink dots on the bedpost and pulls up the pink blanket, she’s fast asleep. The bottom bunk is Mole’s, who hangs her green and yellow hat on the opposite bedpost, pulls up the green and yellow blanket and drifts off to dreamland. Reindeer puts her slippers back on and goes in search of her bed once again.

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It doesn’t take long before she finds one blue and one orange hammock hanging from the ceiling. “‘This is my bed, Reindeer says. ‘Just look at how nicely I’m hanging here!’” She puts a slipper on each of the four train cars on the little track and shuts her eyes. She had just begun to doze, however, when Mouse, wearing a blue hat and slippers, and Mouse, wearing an orange hat and slippers, came over to take back their beds. “‘Good night, Mouse and Mouse.” Reindeer says.

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Next, Reindeer tries the blue canopy bed, but that is Fox’s bed. The little green car bed is cozy, but that one belongs to Hare, and the tiny daybed is much too small for Reindeer but fits Bunny just right. Finally, Reindeer finds a beautiful wrought-iron bed with a blanket as wide as the night sky and a soft pillow. “‘Aha!’ Reindeer calls. ‘This is my lovely bed. I fit in it perfectly!’” Unfortunately for Reindeer, “Bear fits in this bed too.”

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Reindeer puts her slippers on again and keeps looking. At last she spies a nice green bed with an antler decoration on the footboard. But something isn’t quite right. “‘Look!’” Reindeer says. ‘I found the perfect bed for me. But Owl is asleep in my bed.’” Suddenly, Owl wakes up, jumps out from underneath the covers and puts on her hat. “‘Hoot!’ Owl hoots. ‘I sleep during the day. Now it is your turn.’”

Reindeer snuggles in with a “‘Thank you for keeping my bed warm’” to Owl. “Then she falls fast asleep.” As Owl flies by each window, she sees everyone snoozing soundly. “Good night, everyone. We all sleep best in our own bed.”

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Anita Bijsterbosch adorable game-within-a-book makes bedtime fun while encouraging little ones to sleep in their own bed. Each page is cleverly designed as clues in the animals’ clothing colors and patterns match up with beds and blankets. Young readers will love hunting for these hints as well as noticing who is missing from the page before they open the gate fold to discover the answer. Bijsterbosch’s vibrant and cheery pages also give adults plenty to talk about with children, including putting toys away before bedtime, use of nightlights, counting, colors, and even a little science about nocturnal animals. Kids will giggle as Reindeer scrunches herself into tiny beds and smile at the camaraderie of this group of friends. The emphasized phrasing of “my bed” reinforces the idea that everyone has their own most comfortable bed to sleep in.

My Bed would make a terrific gift and an excellent addition to home bookshelves for little ones transitioning to a “big kid bed” or just for bedtime or nap time story time.

Ages 2 – 6

Clavis, 2018 | ISBN 978-1605373874

Clavis sent me a copy of My Bed to check out. All opinions are my own.

Discover more about Anita Bijsterbosch her books and her art on her website