Poetry: Bedtime for Sweet Creatures

Bedtime for Sweet Creatures
by Nikki Grimes
Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

Grimes, Nikki, and Elizabeth Zunon. Bedtime for Sweet Creatures. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2020. 9781492638322

Plot Summary

It's bedtime, but one small creature is not sleepy. With eyes like an owl asking "Who? Who?", the child crawls into bed with his bear. He growls, hisses, roars, and yawns, grinding his teeth and claiming "I'm not sleepy". His mother knows better and tucks him in tight. Soon he's up again, for one last kiss, one last glass of water, and one last trip to the bathroom. Just as mom and dad settle down for bed themselves, the little child sneaks in to join them, bringing owl, bear, snake, kitty, fawn, squirrel, koala, tiger, and wolf with him.

Analysis

Telling a story that is all too familiar to parents around the world, Nikki Grimes delights once again with her poetry. Each young reader can identify with the child who isn't ready to sleep, and each parent can identify with the mother who is trying to convince her small creature to get the rest they need. She utilizes sound and sense imagery to detail the nightly routine of small children getting ready for the bedtime that they're really not ready for. She celebrates the colorful and wild imagination of a child and a patient mother's love. This poetry book is warm and comforting and will easily become a bedtime favorite among readers of all ages.

Elizabeth Zunon's illustrations give a wonderful insight into the imagination of a small child avoiding sleep. They are playful, whimsical, and full of color. She printed the words to float around the page and blend with the illustrations. Some of the words are in a color that compliments the illustrations and stand out, like "Monstersssss" as the child hisses like a snake. These words should be emphasized when reading just as they are emphasized on the pages. The expressions of each person range from a snarl to a kiss and feel realistic. She uses bright colors, varying textures, and geometric shapes to bring each animal from the child's imagination to the page. 

Excerpt

NO! NO! NO!
You beat
the word
like a drum
the minute
I say,
"Come,
sweet creature,

it's bedtime."

 

Connections

This book of poetry would be excellent for exploring different animals. Children could each pick one of the animals from the book to act out as the book is read for a second time. Each time that the child in the book speaks, the child who chose that animal could say the lines. Other nonfiction books that talk about the different animals featured in this book could be used to learn more about each animal.

Reviews

A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote "Zunon's expressive, heavily textured collage is interspersed with abstract animals (evocative of Senufo textile art), clearly delineating imagined from real. Despite the mother's best efforts at trumpeting away any monsters and checking under the bed before reading the child a story, the child appears at the parents' bedside in the late night hours, pleading, "Mommy, can I sleep with you?" As she opens the covers for the tot to join, the parade of gentle beasts joins, helping to lull the now "very sleepy child" into slumber—and turning the visually pleasing adventure into a loving, effective lullaby."

“Bedtime for Sweet Creatures.” 2020. Publishers Weekly 267 (49): 5. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=147208566&site=ehost-live.

Tiffany Flowers wrote for Booklist, "Grimes and Zunon have created an adorable and imaginative bedtime story to add to collections for young children . . . The mother's loving understanding is demonstrated by how she works with her child's rich imagination, never slipping into admonishment. As such, children will engage with the pajama-clad tot's antics and be soothed by the book's positive tone. A fabulous interpretation of an everyday battle."

Flowers, Tiffany. 2019. “Bedtime for Sweet Creatures.” Booklist 116 (6): 58. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=139755849&site=ehost-live.