The Boy Who Wouldn't Go to Bed

by Helen Cooper

This boy is not ready to go to sleep. So he revs up his little red car and drives away so fast that his mother cannot catch him. He drives to a magical land filled with larger-than-life toys. But the toys are all too tired to play with him. The tiger is too sleepy to practice roaring, the train would rather rest than race, and the musicians insist on playing a lullaby that puts the boy's car to sleep. How will he get home now? Luckily someone is still awake, and she's on her way to pick the boy up and tuck him (finally!) into bed.

"This charming story will soon become a favorite part of the bedtime ritual."--School Library Journal

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Helen Sonia Cooper is a British illustrator and an author of children's literature. She grew up in Cumbria, where she practiced literature and piano playing. She currently lives in Oxford.
Cooper has twice been awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. She won for The Baby Who Wouldn't Go To Bed in 1996, which she wrote and illustrated. In 1998 she won for Pumpkin Soup, which she also wrote and illustrated. They were consecutive projects for her.
Beside winning the two Greenaway Medals (no one has won three), Cooper made the shortlist for The Bear Under the Stairs (Doubleday, 1993) and Tatty Ratty (Doubleday, 2001).
As well as her solo picture books, Cooper writes picture book texts for other illustrators, and also illustrates her own middle grade fiction - most recently, The Taming of the Cat' published by Faber and Faber in the UK.
WorldCat reports that Pumpkin Soup is her work most widely held in participating libraries.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See here for more details

Reviews

[Archit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations and an adventurous bedtime story, specially for the boys who wouldn't go to bed. Reading children's books is indeed a bliss.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently read this author-illustrator’s (I am so impressed when book creators can do both the writing and illustrations!) Pumpkin Soup and Dog Biscuit and given each of them 4 stars, I was intrigued by this book because of its title. And now, I’d definitely consider reading her other books too.

I think this is an excellent book for toddlers and preschoolers who tend to resist going to bed or as a bedtime story for any young child. Slightly older children might very well enjoy it too.

It’s a story of a very young child/baby who wants to stay up and play with everything in their environment but everything and everyone tells them it’s time to go to sleep. There’s a brief potentially scary moment when a shadowed figure comes up to the baby, but it turns out very well very quickly.

The pictures have a lot of clever touches and are enjoyable to view. Even the dedication page is incorporated into a beautiful and clever illustration.

I hated bedtime when I was young, and about half the kids I’ve known have also. This is a particularly fun book for kids who never want to go to bed when it’s time to go to sleep.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely illustrations and a fun variation on the usual bedtime story

[Divya Prasad · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're searching for the perfect bedtime story, this book is a must-read. I enjoyed reading it with my 5-year-old daughter, Rachel.Baby is adamant that he won't sleep. At first, he encounters a sleepy tiger. Upon closer inspection, we discovered a zipper on the tiger's stomach. Rachel looked puzzled, but as we turned to the next page, we realized that something was hidden in every illustration. The illustrations conveyed more than the written words. We particularly adored the birds with long keys on their backs perched on the tree. It wasn't until the last page that Rachel discovered they were just the toys of the little baby. We rewound the book and identified all the toys in the baby's bedroom.Rachel expressed her love for the story because she enjoys imaginative play too. "I would imagine flying with an angel and resting on the clouds... But the clouds were cotton candies, so we ate them. Then Santa took me in a sleigh, and we flew to a snowy place where we made a snowman..." And as usual, her imagination ran wild.

[Meg Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a baby that didnt want to go to bed. Great illustrations that link well to the story. Especially the final picture as it depicts all the things he saw in his dream. Can the children spot this?

Great way to introduce speech as there is multiple conversations between the baby and his toys/mother.

A great way to use this book in teaching would be with a lesson on retelling. The student could use the 5 W's work sheet. The students will fill out the What happen?, Who was there?, Why did it happen?, When did it happen?, Where did it happen? This book was really good to use because it had numerous characters that the students wanted to add. The key part is asking the students to pick out the MAIN characters.

[Julian Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Helen's stories and I'll be leaving reviews of others of hers we've read soon.

This was new to me, and hats off to authors who illustrate their own work too... especially with such talent on the page as Helen manages. The warmth of the illustrations and the atmophere make this not only good to look at, but a real journey into the land of nod.

The words are well chosen too, from the repeating sound that the baby's toy car makes, to the descriptions of the sleepy encounters the baby has on his way to SleepyTown.. that most, like me I'm sure, will be yawning in between the words!

Such a delight, my daughter loves to read it, even by herself (she's three) and I love to read it with her.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are variations on sleep and dreaming that can confuse even an adult. So it's no surprise that the boy in this story could be dreaming, yet not realize it.

Here's a sample of the fantasy quality of this picture book:

The boy looked up at the moon.
"Can't we have a midnight feast?" he wailed.

"It's bedtime," sighed the moon drowsily.
And even the moon closed her eyes and dozed off.

FIVE STARS for the creative artist and illustrator, Helen Cooper.

[Disha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rightly the winner of Kate Greenaway medal. The book speaks of a naughty child who is awake, way past it’s bed time and the mother’s effort to put him to sleep. In a subtle way the end of the story speaks of a mother’s ability to put her child’s need ahead of her as she sacrifices her sleep to entertain her child till he himself chooses to sleep.

[Paige Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great bedtime story to read to children. It is all about an adventure to avoid going to bed. It really is imaginative and gets children thinking. The pictures are very detailed and vibrant.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little toddler didn't want to go to bed and tried very hard to get someone to stay up with him. He travelled in his little car until it fell asleep, all the while his tired mother waited for him. Beautiful story and illustrations.

[Mom_reading_childrens_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the good sleep books, one of the ones where the baby wants to stay up all night, only to find that all the things/animals/etc. that he wants to play with want to go to sleep. I particularly liked it when the tiger said that nighttime is for snoring, not roaring.

[Meg McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, is just perfect for the boy or girl, who will not go to bed!

Beautiful illustrations and wonderful text make this book a keeper!

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read many times.

[Laurence Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and simple and allows for a good re telling and imagination.

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable. This put a smile on my face.

[Ashley Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title indicates, this would be a good bedtime story. It’s short and the illustrations are imaginative.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen Cooper won the 1996 Kate Greenaway Medal for this title in 1996. It is a lovely bedtime story, especially for the reluncant child who resists having a bedtime. The text is imaginative and the illustrations give one a sleepy drowsy feeling

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedtime is one subject I hate arguing over. While I get the firm parenting thing, I also do not mind creative alternatives that can keep one or both of us crying and/or sulking ourselves to sleep. We had story time as a part of the routine so what better solution is there than a book where they are arguing about a bedtime that follows with the child seeing the futility of staying up? Helen Cooper understands a child’s intelligence—which is very likely why Natalya would refuse to read this one at bedtime after a time or two. N didn’t have to yell “NO!” and the sweet mommy look less of a meanie and more of a wise woman by story’s end. Yeah, I love that.

the boy who wouldn’t is fun to read aloud, though I was bummed when N wanted to make the car noises instead of me. But I had to smile when she would trace “Y-A-W-N” with her finger on the last page and do an exaggerated yawn face and sound. Cooper also implements the word “trundled” which makes me happy every time. The world the boy runs away to in his car is a slumberous one and the rich hues are a bit slumberous as well. There is a lot to look at in the pretty illustrations: figures and objects familiar to bedtime rituals and the boys bedroom in particular. He really is wandering around the house in his car the whole time which was probably Natalya’s favorite realization. Everything about the illustrations and the way it reads says lets snuggle in and think seriously about sleep. We can play in the morning, the story creatures remind the boy, they are going to bed and so should he.

L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book is about the imaginative journey a little boy takes as he "drives" away from his mother in an effort to avoid bedtime and stay up all night. It used to be my oldest son's favorite bedtime story (he is now 18). I think I could probably recite it by heart...but the illustrations are so beautiful that reading the book is much preferred. Our old copy has been used and loved so much that it is taped together in places. My favorite quote from the book: "Then the mother lifted up the boy with one arm, and pushed the car with the other...(She was a very strong mother.) And she trundled and bundled them all the way home."

[EH-PI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic Helen Cooper book. This one is about a baby who wouldn't go to bed. He insists on riding his toy car all night. Well, he's about to have himself a night-time adventure, and at the end, there's a huge, eerie shadow come to get him, which turns out to be....you'll have to read to find out.

The illustrations here make this book a keeper for the generations -- they are at once magical, and at once childlike, and even as an adult, I'm brought back to my youngest childhood moments when the world, even the smallest object in it, could be a matter of great wonder.

[Portable · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic Helen Cooper story, with dreamy illustrations that really provoke discussion. The title means there are no surprises, arguments about bedtime begin the boy's journey into the imagination as he tries to find toys who will share his late night adventures. But everyone else wants to sleep! Fortunately, the boy's mother is there, waiting, when he is too sleepy to go any further.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little boy is determined to stay up all night but everyone and everything he encounters is sleepy and ready for bed. Everyone expect...his mother.

My son and I might be biased in our liking of this book because this is our nightly routine :). I especially admired how the illustrations and text captured many different aspects of the mother-son relationship. My son enjoyed seeing how the car, tiger, soldiers, etc found throughout the story turn out to be toys found in his room.

[Kelly Whelchel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book overall was an ok book. A great way to use this book in teaching would be with a lesson on retelling. The student could use the 5 W's work sheet. The students will fill out the What happen?, Who was there?, Why did it happen?, When did it happen?, Where did it happen? This book was really good to use because it had numerous characters that the students wanted to add. The key part is asking the students to pick out the MAIN characters.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy who does not want to go to bed has a series of imaginary encounters.

Reading Practice, Read Aloud


Book Level: 2.5

Interest Level: Lower Grades (LG K-3)

Fiction/Nonfiction Fiction

Topic - Subtopic: Behavior-Disobedience; Fantasy/Imagination-Misc./Other; People-Children

[Ryan Treaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a child who is not ready to go to sleep . He gets in his little car and takes off to a world with larger than life toys. These toys are too tired to play and end up putting the boy to sleep.

Reading Level- Early Readers
Curricular uses- Read aloud and independent
Literary elements- onomonopeia, pictures support the text well also

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

At bedtime, the wayward baby outruns his mother into a world of make-believe. His toys come to life, and he begs each of them in turn to play with him, but all of them sagely advise him that nighttime is for sleeping. Both of my sons loved this book as toddlers. My youngest gets happy and excited when the Mother comes looking for the Baby, which I naturally find very gratifying.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first non-board books that we have read with Noah, and he loves it. It won a prize for its illustrations, and they are very good, and quite clever. There aren't too many words for a 2 year old boy, and Noah is engaged for the whole book, and asks to read it again and again. Very cute, fun book.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is called "The Baby Who Wouldn't Go to Bed" here in the UK, which made for some difficult hunting on Goodreads. Regardless, what a magnificent book. The illustrations are dreamy and sumptuous, and I couldn't help but think that I would love some of the prints to hang up in my daughter's room. The story is wonderful, and quite apt for children my daughter's age (3).

[Yasmin Gomez Geng]

A mixture of reality and fantasy, this book takes us through the journey of a baby trying to stay up all night! We see him meet toy soldiers, a train, the moon, and some musicians. But there is one person who is still awake, and is waiting for baby to fall asleep.

Grade: Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Topic: Family, Bedtime, Toys