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Overview
For many youngsters, bedtime is something to be avoided ("But I'm not tired yet!") or even feared ("There are monsters under my bed!"). Night-Night offers creative solutions to help children settle into sleep — transforming bedtime from a battle into a quiet time for parents and children to share together. Some of the activities help develop language or number skills, others inspire cognitive or creative thinking, and others simply help children relax. "Good Night, Teddy" encourages kids to put their favorite dolls and stuffed animals to bed; "And Now for the News" lets them "broadcast" the highlights of their day; and having children sing a favorite lullaby verrrry sloooowly just may lull them to sleep.Synopsis
In Night-Night, author Cynthia MacGregor tackles one of the biggest challenges of parenthood--tucking a child into bed. Every parent has experienced the countless excuses and delays of a child resisting bedtime, from needing another drink of water to fearing monsters lurking in the dark. In Night-Night, MacGregor presents a fun assortment of creative solutions to transform bedtime from a battle into a special bonding experience for parents and their children.
Beautifully illustrated and filled with suggestions for storytime activities, quiet games, and playful songs and rhymes, Night-Night will turn bedtime into a special part of the day. There are activities to help develop language and number skills and activities that will inspire cognitive and creative thinking, as well as suggestions on how to help children relax. Instead of reading a book, MacGregor suggests telling personal stories tailored to the child's individuality, such as tales about when the child was little or adventures the parent had as a child. She also proposes activities to make bedtime more exciting, such as playing hokey-pokey to get under the covers and making up rhymes to accompany the actions of snuggling into bed.
Norah Piehl - Children's Literature
This book of bedtime stories, songs, and games was created to fill a perceived need for "bedtime activities other than reading a book." The result is a slightly uneven collection with some good ideas that are difficult to find due to a less-than-successful organization. For example, why is the activity that proposes having the child write a comic book in the section on "Soothing Games" rather than in "Sleepytime Stories?" Most of the included activities do boil down to storytelling in one way or another: having the adult tell the child a story from his or her own childhood, or taking turns adding details to a group story. Although some of the games and stories are too complicated or time-consuming to be a regular part of bedtime, many of the proposed activities—such as asking the child "what was the best thing that happened today?"—may soon become vital elements of the bedtime routine. With ideas for ages three to ten, this collection may also have utility for car trips (many of the games are variations on well-known travel games) and quiet rainy-day play. 2001, Conari Press, Ages Adult.
Editorials
Children's Literature
This book of bedtime stories, songs, and games was created to fill a perceived need for "bedtime activities other than reading a book." The result is a slightly uneven collection with some good ideas that are difficult to find due to a less-than-successful organization. For example, why is the activity that proposes having the child write a comic book in the section on "Soothing Games" rather than in "Sleepytime Stories?" Most of the included activities do boil down to storytelling in one way or another: having the adult tell the child a story from his or her own childhood, or taking turns adding details to a group story. Although some of the games and stories are too complicated or time-consuming to be a regular part of bedtime, many of the proposed activities—such as asking the child "what was the best thing that happened today?"—may soon become vital elements of the bedtime routine. With ideas for ages three to ten, this collection may also have utility for car trips (many of the games are variations on well-known travel games) and quiet rainy-day play. 2001, Conari Press, Ages Adult.—Norah Piehl