Bedtime Blastoff!

by Luke Reynolds, Mike Yamada (Illustrator)

Blast off to bedtime with this adventure-filled story about a little boy who imagines his bed turning into a car, a fire truck, even a space ship as he rockets into dreamland!

For little boys who love construction vehicles, race cars, and fire trucks, this is the perfect bedtime story to get them strapped in and ready to blast off to bedtime! A bed. A boy. His daddy. "Bedtime?""Not yet!"A jet. . . A pilot. . . His turbo-boost! A train. . . A conductor. . . His full-steam-ahead! Debut author Luke Reynolds captures this boy-themed bedtime adventure with perfectly simple but poignant text, while debut illustrator and animator Mike Yamada brings it to life with his awesome ability to transform a bed into a rocket, a plane, and even a pirate ship!

Genres: Picture Books, Space, Childrens, Transport, Family

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2016

Reviews

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the plot and the illustrations but the text was just weird and clunky. It didn't work for the preK age level so I skipped some of the words and made up others. With the right words, this would have been a 4 or 5.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute read. Made me think of my middle kiddo with bedtime. Allll the things before sleep. I think that’s why I enjoyed it!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband used to tell bedtime stories to my son when he was young. This book reminds me of them. It represents their experience. Kids grow up. I want to remember what it was like when my son was little. It was fun book to read to Alena today.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun illustrations of a boy and his dad before bed.

Ages: 3 - 6

Here’s a few of our bedtime favs: watch my reel!

Content Considerations: nothing to note.

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[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover and title make it look as if this is a space adventure, but that's not all it is. With the help of his dad, a little boy's bed becomes a train, a pirate ship, a fire engine and more. At last, the boy settles down for the night, but for other little boys and girls, this isn't likely to have the soporific quality of say,Goodnight Moon. The bright, digital pictures were created by an animator, and this has the energy of a cartoon. Great for reading BEFORE settling down to that bedtime routine.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining with cute pictures, but I wish the writing had been a bit more substantial or at least could've rhymed. My sound effect abilities weren't enough to make this an engaging storytime read.

[Kristen Holland Shear · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read for toddlers and young school-aged kids. The story is about a little boy who loves race cars, pirate ships, and space shuttles, and wants to travel aboard each one before bed. He invents so many different scenarios that he does eventually wear himself out and go to sleep, much to the chagrin of his ever-present dad, who shares his own nighttime dream of traveling to the moon with his adventurous son. The amount of text is limited (another plus for young readers), so there's lots of room for young and old imaginations to run wild. It's a bit of a mess grammatically, but my four-year-old son loved the simplicity. He especially loved the illustrations, which really pop off the page. Children and parents alike will definitely relate to the often amusing stalling tactics children use to avoid bedtime.

(I evaluated this book for the Northrich Elementary School Library.)

[Abby Peskin · Rating 4 out of 5]

With very simple and few words, but cute and detailed illustrations, this book tells a well-worn story of a parent trying to get their child to go to bed. The dad seems to set up multiple scenarios in which the child is "landing a plane" or "finishing a race," etc. with the finish line being bedtime. The child continuously says he's not quite ready for bed until the dad finds just the right activity.

[Frances Hotchkiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedtime Blastoff! was a huge hit in my Books Before Bedtime program! It is the perfect picture book to use with young children. Not a lot of text and bright, bold and colorful illustrations make it the perfect choice for little ones! I paired it with the book, Beep! Beep! Go To Sleep! Very fun!

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not many words but the pictures along with the words make this a fun before bedtime read.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great bedtime book for little bits!

[Nikki Glassley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute story about a boy and his dad (his dad!) as bedtime. Not enough books about dads and kids.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Gardner Library. I picked it because it looked fun. He read it with Grandie and Nana while Dada and I were out of town, so I don't know how he enjoyed it.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: A bed. A boy. His daddy. "Bedtime?" "Not yet!" A train…a conductor…His full-steam-ahead!

Premise/plot: A little boy isn't quite ready for bed yet. He and his dad have a LOT of playing to do…together.
My thoughts: I am so glad I didn't judge this book by its cover. I wasn't expecting to like it very much. But I gave it a chance and decided to go ahead and read it. The first few pages hooked me. It was GOOD. What did I like about it? The simplicity of the text. So much is communicated in just a few words. I liked the creative, imaginative play. I enjoyed the relationship between father and son. It was just sweet without being super-sticky sweet. And the illustrations may not have wowed me at first. I did appreciate the clues they provide.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digital illustrations complement the familiar story of a boy and his father preparing for bedtime. Of course, the child isn't quite ready to go--at least not yet--and his father enthusiastically joins him play. Over the course of the book, they turn his bed and room into a train, a plane, a ship, a bulldozer, and even a spaceship. By the time the little guy is tucked snugly in bed, his father is exhausted and joins him while dreaming of their shared space explorations. I appreciate the fact that this book shows such a positive, nurturing relationship between a man and his son and also that they are engaged in plenty of imaginary play. Because of how the story is presented, this one would make a good read aloud title.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming book about how children sometimes, more often than not, do not yet want to go to bed. So what is the best solution? Imagination of course! This book takes a father and son duo on various kinds of adventures and eventually they are both tuckered out from their journeys and fall fast asleep. A great end to the evening, a book that will help make bedtime blastoff!

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the perennial bedtime negotiations! In this case, with a patient pater, who puts the rest of us to shame, embarks on a dizzying array of imaginative play in order to ease his little darling into blessed sleep. Minimal text, exuberant illustrations. Sure to be a bedtime favorite.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Various forms of transportation.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A young boy and his father use their imaginations before bedtime to transform an ordinary laundry basket into a variety of transportation vehicles"-- Provided by publisher.

[Lynne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uniquely-executed, fun bed-time book.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A toddler storytime read.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, but insubstantial.

[Heather Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

megan summer reading 2016, children's book, picture book, bedtime, imagination, father, son, prek, kindergarten, first grade,

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke loved this book! He called it his space book

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boy is reluctant to go to bed and uses his time with his father to have some imaginative fun.