Before I Go to Sleep

by Thomas Hood, Maryjane Begin (Illustrator)

In an exquisitely illustrated nineteenth-century poem, a child drifts to sleep imagining all the animals he would like to be, including a tap-dancing giraffe, a musical chimpanzee, and a mountain goat in silly socks. Reissue.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Thomas Hood was an English poet, author and humourist, best known for poems such as The Bridge of Sighs and The Song of the Shirt. Hood wrote regularly for The London Magazine, the Athenaeum, and Punch. He later published a magazine largely consisting of his own works. Hood, never robust, lapsed into invalidism by the age of 41 and died at the age of 45. William Michael Rossetti in 1903 called him "the finest English poet" between the generations of Shelley and Tennyson. Hood was the father of playwright and humorist Tom Hood (1835 – 1874).

Reviews

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023

2022

2021
2021
Gift from Harper's grandmother

Cute rhyming story about falling asleep

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute child's story!

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very imaginative.

[Kennady · Rating 4 out of 5]

During a summer night, a little boy could not sleep. So he began to dream about many different animals he could be and all of the weird things he would be able to do. He dreamt that he was a polar bear and selling ice burgs by the pound, he dreamt that he was a lion who got fed bananas and stay in his pajamas all day, and many other things. After all of the imagination, he was fast asleep in his dreams and thoughts.

I gave this book 4 stars, I really enjoyed the illustrations and the imagination. I think that this story would really get kids thinking and imagining different things. Overall this book isn't one of my favorites, I thought it could've used a little more.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great imaginative rhyming book with colorful pictures of different animals in different scenarios. A boy is trying to fall asleep, and he imagines all the different animals he would like to be. Some animals include, a cat, a polar bear, and even a mountain goat. This could be a great way to introduce new animals that they have never heard of before. The rhyming words on each page make it a fun read and funny to see animals doing different activities. I think children would really enjoy looking at the fun pictures.

LE: In small groups, have precut pictures of each of the animals from the story. Re-read the story and provide students with construction paper with numbers on the page. As the teacher reads the story, have the students glue the pictures in the correct order of when they are mentioned in the book.

[Robin Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The combination of rich literature and colorful and interesting illustrations make this book awesome. The text is written with onomatopoeia. The animal characters in the illustrations look as though they live adventurous lives. They take on a human like quality in their personalities and wear such fun clothing. The illustrations are just as interesting as the literature.


About the Author:

Thomas Hood was born in London in 1799 and the son of a bookseller. His schoolmaster encouraged his interest in literacy. As an adult he wrote articles with poetic humor for newspapers and magazines. His association with the literary society in his time allowed him to develop his own intellectual power as editor, publisher, poet and humorist. He passed away in 1845 due to illness.

[Colton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is about a boy thinking about what he would want to be (aniamal wise) that is how he goes to sleep.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luscious illustrations!

[Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

From what I remember, a god-tier bedtime book.

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for young students who are learning how to activate their schema. It goes through how a boy imagines the various things he could be doing instead of going to bed.