Go to Bed, Monster!

by Natasha Wing, Sylvie Kantorovitz (Illustrator)

Lucy DOES NOT want to go to bed. She wants to draw. But as she's working on her masterpiece, Lucy creates . . . Monster! Monster just wants to play. And play. And play some more--until even Lucy is exhausted. It's going to take some quick thinking (and drawing) to get this tireless monster to bed. . . .

Natasha Wing and Sylvie Kantorovitz have created a sweet and hilarious bedtime tale reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon . It's a story about friendship, imagination, and turning the tables on those little monsters who just won't go to bed!

Genres: Picture Books, Monsters, Childrens, Storytime, Halloween, Humor, Art

29 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Why am I a writer? When I was a young girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I’d line up my stuffed animals in front of a board and teach them the alphabet and how to count. In high school I wanted to be a tennis player. I was on the tennis team, and played at our neighborhood tennis club. Then in college I thought digging dinosaur bones would be a cool job. It wasn’t until I was working at my own public relations agency that I decided I really wanted to write children’s books. I was so inspired by the magic of reading a book that I wanted to see if my active imagination could create magical moments for kids all over the world. I started to write, then sent my stories to publishers, and sold my first manuscript in 1992. I’ve been writing ever since.

Why I write now.

I love the freedom of being my own boss, of coming up with ideas on my own and writing that first draft to see if my idea has any spark. I’m not so crazy about the revising process although there are thrilling moments when I figure out a better way to say something, or when I nail dialog, or work through a complicated plot line. The most exciting moment is when an editor says they want to publish my manuscript. Then I know all my hard work has paid off, and that soon, children will enter my imaginative world through a book.

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy does not want to go to bed; she wants to draw. She creates Monster with a few strokes of her crayons and together they have some fun. But, when Lucy is finally tired and ready to go to sleep, she has to convince Monster to go to bed, too. The realistic crayon drawings are perfect for pre-readers to follow along with the story.

What makes this a fun read-aloud is that it brings common bedtime feelings and delay tactics to the forefront. While the initial reaction might be to compare it the classic, Harold and the Purple Crayon, the story is shorter and the illustrations are more colorful. Drawing is a calming bedtime activity to get all the monsters out of your head, and Kantorovitz's colorful illustrations could certainly serve that need, as well as inspiration to children at any time of the day. Wing's story will have your little one reading along in no time, but perhaps Lucy's solution to getting Monster to bed is her way of asking for the same!

[Anna Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another one of my favorites. To me, it reads like Harold and the Purple Crayon, but it is shorter. I like the interplay between the girl and her monster-- especially how she takes a parental role in getting him to bed. I think this is a very sweet story and a wonderful one to share.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Move over, Harold! Lucy has an entire box of crayons that she puts to good use one evening when she can't sleep. A perfect book for reading aloud at bedtime.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: One night, Lucy tossed and turned. She could not, would not, did not want to go to bed. "I want to draw," she said.

Premise/plot: Lucy does NOT want to go to bed. She draws what turns out to be a monster instead. The two have MANY adventures. But when she's ready to go bed--finally--he doesn't want to go to bed. Can a sleepy Lucy convince not sleepy Monster to go to bed? What will it take to get them both sound asleep?

My thoughts: I loved this one. I first read it years ago. I even interviewed the author! It was a cute, funny, charming, delightful book. I never tire of a good bedtime book. I do recommend this one. I wish there was a board book edition of it available!

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10

[Gabby Tedesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. The best thing about this book is that it includes shapes. I think this would be great to read to your kids because they can guess what shape was being drawn on the paper which means the book can also count as an informational book too. The beginning was good because it set the reader up for what the book was going to be about. I loved how she played with the monster then turned into a parent towards the end. Not sure if that was a spoiler, but I put spoilers on.

[Amber Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that the drawings are kid like. The storyline is very simple and easy for young readers to understand. I like that the words are within the pictures to make the reading more fun. One cool thing about this book is that the words that the monsters say like ROAR are in fun letters and textures. I like how the monster and kid get along well together in the book to show students that they are not scary.

[Katy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is about a child that doesn't want to go to bed so they create a monster. Then they do want to go to bed but the monster won't. I would use this book to go over shapes, because the monster is made up of different shapes. Or I could use the book as a listening lesson, because the boy didn't lesson and then had to deal with the monster also not listening.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an insomniac with an active imagination, my child and adult selves relate to Lucy's situation. Since she can't sleep, Lucy draws a monster and he comes to life. Some might say the monster is Lucy's subconscious or her muse. Either way, it's a charming going to bed story.

[Keeko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the idea of the drawing coming to life. It's wonderful when a children's book fits with how a child imagines. It's clever, fun, and lovable. A joy of a read. Thanks to Natasha Wing and Sylvie Kantorovitz and everyone who helped with this.

[Jaden-Ciera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture Book - Very cute story about getting a monster ready for bed. Also very relatable to not wanting to go to bed and having to get everything in order so that you can sleep. This book tells the story of a little girl getting her monster ready so he will go to bed.

[Kelsey Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bed time can be hard, even for monsters. It was fun to see the child taking on the parent role and trying to get the monster to sleep. I think role reversals can help children develop more empathy and it was done in a nice way here. But it is not a story my children or I felt drawn to read again.

[Abby Peskin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girl in the story decides to draw instead of going to bed. She draws a monster that comes to life and is fun to play with at first, but eventually she gets tired and wants to go to sleep. The monster isn’t tired, though - it wants to stay awake and play. How will she convince him to go to bed?

[Eleanor W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a classic "child learns that they are being boogers about bedtime" book.

[Kaelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is funny.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it was so funny and fun

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kid creates a monster (literally) with her crayons, who she then must convince when it's time for bed. A celebration of creativity and imagination.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and witty, although I suspect the adult reading it would appreciate it even more than the child audience. My kids would have humored me thouth.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going to use this next year for a Pajama Storytime in October.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This goes well with the shape monster craft for their portfolios.

[Library To-Go · Rating 5 out of 5]

7/9/25: Pediatrust Story Time. -PWP

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy really did not want to go to sleep. Instead of sleeping, she used her imagination to draw a monster to play with. With her monster she built some castles, and flew airplanes and did lots of fun things, until Lucy finally got tired and wanted to go to sleep. Then the monster didn’t want to go to sleep. Lucy drew the monster a bed and a teddy bear and even a bathroom, and finally the monster and Lucy went to sleep.
The clever illustrations were done in oil paints and pastels. Most of the illustrations are intended to look as though Lucy drew them. Her drawings of the monster and the activities she does with the monster are drawn in a way that children can relate to. The monster is made out of basic shapes, just as a child would draw them.
The words in this story are very simple, and are wonderful for reading to a group of children in storytime. The kids will enjoy hearing the loud voice of the monster as he complains that he is not ready for bed. This is an excellent book to use for a storytime about monsters or getting ready for bed.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny little story about a girl who won't go to sleep, but who learns her lesson when the imaginary friend she creates won't go to sleep either. The monster goes through the entire bed time ritual of easing a child's concerns and manages to make it seem humorous, even when you aren't feeling that humorous.

Because it's short, it's a good bed-time story for when you are having the same troubles the girl of the story is having. But, it's not as sweet nor as sophisticated as some of the other stories we've been reading lately, and for all its utility and humor I doubt it will endure as a favorite for me or the girls.

The best part of the book is the illustrations and hand drawn fonts for the monster. I'm going to have to ask my brother-in-law for the word for a font that looks like it sounds.

"Potty!!!"

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy did not want to go to sleep! She got out her crayons and started to draw and soon she had drawn a monster! Lucy and Monster played all kinds of games and jumped and skipped all over. Soon Lucy was tired, but Monster wasn’t; he still wanted to play. Lucy drew a bed for Monster, a moon in the window, even a teddy bear. It wasn’t until Lucy read Monster a bedtime story that he was finally ready for bed. With fun, child-like crayon drawings, this picture book captures the power of a child’s imagination. (Published last year)

This was a hit at storytime.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Harold and the Purple Crayon in mind (but perhaps more in the spirit of the Daffy Duck classic Duck Amuck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH6i2Z...), Wing and Kantorovitz have created a cute, completely innocuous, somewhat disposable bedtime story. The two redeeming features of the book - the very fun and quite good illustrations in oil paints and oil pastels (that look like a child's crayonings) and the idea that art and what we create can sometimes leap out of our control in unexpected ways.

[JustOneMoreBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featuring playful, childlike drawings, imaginary adventure and the familiar ping-pong interaction of every stall tactic in the book, this 2007 Cybils Award Finalist turns the tables on the theatrical endurance test we call “bedtime”.

Listen to our chat about Go to Bed, Monster! on the JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lucy draws a monster who springs to life and it's all hunky dory until she tires and is ready to hit the hay. It's the ultimate role reversal as the monster refuses to quiet down and go to sleep!

To appease the demanding creature she draws him water, food, a bathroom ....(If you've ever tried to get an unwilling kid to go to bed you can guess the rest of the excuses the monster comes up with).

Will she ever convince the monster to count sheep?

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Lucy doesn't want to go to bed, she instead draws a monster who wants to play, build castles, have snacks, and stalls when it really is time for bed. Then, Lucy does what she likes when she gets sleepy...she reads monster a book. And, side-by-side, monster and Lucy drift into dreamland.

Used for "Family Jammie Storytime"-November, 2009.

Used for "Monsters: And Other Creatures" storytime-October, 2011.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has elements of "There's A Nightmare In My Closet", "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Harold and the Purple Crayon". Lucy creates her monster, but isn't scared of it. Instead they play together until she takes on the role of grown-up and finds a way to get her monster to bed. Bright fun pictures, and perhaps some inspiration for kids to create their own personal monster playmate.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl doesn't want to go to bed, so she draws pictures instead. A picture she draws of a monster does fun things with her. Very imaginative. Then she's tired and wants to go to bed but her monster plays the reluctant child role and wants water, potty, etc., that the girl has to satisfy. Clever, funny, and great bedtime book!

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an incredibly restless toddler story time, this was the last book I read, and it was also the longest. That was a recipe for disaster. I had to shorten this book quite a bit, and no one seemed all that engaged. I would try this in preschool story time, but I'm thinking it's a bit too old for my toddlers.