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Bye-bye, Crib
There it is.
Over there.
The big bed...
Am I ready?
#1 New York Times best-selling author Alison McGhee tells the tale of a child's first rite of passage - from the crib to the big bed. Ross MacDonald's glowing illustrations will comfort, amuse, and inspire toddlers and even their parents as they take this first big step together.
Over there.
The big bed...
Am I ready?
#1 New York Times best-selling author Alison McGhee tells the tale of a child's first rite of passage - from the crib to the big bed. Ross MacDonald's glowing illustrations will comfort, amuse, and inspire toddlers and even their parents as they take this first big step together.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2008
2 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Alison McGhee
54 books402 followersAlison McGhee writes novels, picture books, poems, and essays for all ages, including the just-published THE OPPOSITE OF FATE, a novel, and the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller SOMEDAY, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages. She lives in Minneapolis and California.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 8, 2012
Well, folks, it seems that I don't have enough time on my hands because I decided last night (as I lay in bed and vainly tried to will myself to sleep, but lost the battle to depressing thoughts of going back to work today after two weeks off) that I was going to start reviewing horrible children's books. And let me tell you that there are more out there than I ever knew.
I have a toddler son who, to my delight, loves books nearly as much as I do. On any given day, you can find us reading a book to him on the couch, after which, we are required to get up and reenact the contents of the book as if we were the creatures in the book. This has led to scenes of a toddler "badger" pretending to repair leaking shingles on our roof with his play tools (Badger's New House), sitting on a "nest" of blankets and pretending to pop out of an egg to look for his mother (Are You My Mother?) and if he occasionally refers to me as princess, instead of mama, as in, "princess, can i watch a movie?", I am not one to argue. So, we frequent the local library in search of new books for the buddy at least monthly, usually checking out at least 30 books. (We are doing our part to keep our libraries open!) However, it has become evident to my husband and I that there are authors out there who are writing children's picture books who CLEARLY have never, ever, in their lives been around a child and maybe were never a child themselves. This led me to my midnight thoughts and so, I decided, for everyone’s sake, I would educate the world about these books.
Now, for those of you with children, you understand what it's like to go to the library with them alone. It's sort of like going to an all-you can-eat buffet where you are racing against the clock to get as much food crammed into your mouth and down into your stomach (to make it worth your money) before you feel so full you have to stop. At the library, it’s like suddenly those two little toddler hands that are still learning to do important tasks like put clothes on their body, suddenly become masters at pulling books off the shelf and creating mass destruction in five seconds, so forgive me if I don’t adequately inspect every book I put into our check-out bag. I’m just grabbing everything I can that doesn’t look weird or mean as fast as I can.
Right now, we are getting ready to move the buddy into a “big-boy bed”. We’ve got everything we need, except bed rails and once those are made, we are set to go, so we’ve been talking it up big-time and LO, I found this book. What a delight! I felt very sneaky as I checked this out, thinking to myself, “now, I will be able to plant the seeds of big boy bed-dom with the help of this wonderful book that the buddy will want to read and then pretend about.” And then we started reading it and the happy, pink-cheeked, darling of a child on the cover started waxing on about how he didn’t want to move to a big-boy bed because the big boy bed was a MONSTER that was going to EAT HIM complete with dark, scary pictures of a bed with mean eyes and sharp alligator teeth and the beginnings of hungry drool hanging from its’ horrible mouth.
Thank you so much for your invaluable help, author and illustrator. Now, excuse me while I go comfort my child from the night terrors he is now having.
I have a toddler son who, to my delight, loves books nearly as much as I do. On any given day, you can find us reading a book to him on the couch, after which, we are required to get up and reenact the contents of the book as if we were the creatures in the book. This has led to scenes of a toddler "badger" pretending to repair leaking shingles on our roof with his play tools (Badger's New House), sitting on a "nest" of blankets and pretending to pop out of an egg to look for his mother (Are You My Mother?) and if he occasionally refers to me as princess, instead of mama, as in, "princess, can i watch a movie?", I am not one to argue. So, we frequent the local library in search of new books for the buddy at least monthly, usually checking out at least 30 books. (We are doing our part to keep our libraries open!) However, it has become evident to my husband and I that there are authors out there who are writing children's picture books who CLEARLY have never, ever, in their lives been around a child and maybe were never a child themselves. This led me to my midnight thoughts and so, I decided, for everyone’s sake, I would educate the world about these books.
Now, for those of you with children, you understand what it's like to go to the library with them alone. It's sort of like going to an all-you can-eat buffet where you are racing against the clock to get as much food crammed into your mouth and down into your stomach (to make it worth your money) before you feel so full you have to stop. At the library, it’s like suddenly those two little toddler hands that are still learning to do important tasks like put clothes on their body, suddenly become masters at pulling books off the shelf and creating mass destruction in five seconds, so forgive me if I don’t adequately inspect every book I put into our check-out bag. I’m just grabbing everything I can that doesn’t look weird or mean as fast as I can.
Right now, we are getting ready to move the buddy into a “big-boy bed”. We’ve got everything we need, except bed rails and once those are made, we are set to go, so we’ve been talking it up big-time and LO, I found this book. What a delight! I felt very sneaky as I checked this out, thinking to myself, “now, I will be able to plant the seeds of big boy bed-dom with the help of this wonderful book that the buddy will want to read and then pretend about.” And then we started reading it and the happy, pink-cheeked, darling of a child on the cover started waxing on about how he didn’t want to move to a big-boy bed because the big boy bed was a MONSTER that was going to EAT HIM complete with dark, scary pictures of a bed with mean eyes and sharp alligator teeth and the beginnings of hungry drool hanging from its’ horrible mouth.
Thank you so much for your invaluable help, author and illustrator. Now, excuse me while I go comfort my child from the night terrors he is now having.
January 7, 2020
A little boy works up the courage to go to sleep in a "big bed" for the first time in this picture-book from author Alison McGhee and illustrator Ross MacDonald, bidding his old crib goodbye. Frightened at first, imagining the bed as a monster about to eat him, worried that he will fall out, he is reassured by his hovering parents. Eventually, with his stuffed kitty friend, the boy manages to make the transition...
The topic of young children transitioning from a crib to a "proper" bed is one that I have had inquiries about at work, so I was quite glad to have picked up Bye-bye Crib, which offers an engaging reassurance story centered around this theme. The artwork by MacDonald, who wrote and illustrated the retro picture-book, Another Perfect Day , has an old-fashioned, vintage charm, while the story is gentle and encouraging. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books about leaving one's crib days behind, and moving on to a "big kid" bed.
The topic of young children transitioning from a crib to a "proper" bed is one that I have had inquiries about at work, so I was quite glad to have picked up Bye-bye Crib, which offers an engaging reassurance story centered around this theme. The artwork by MacDonald, who wrote and illustrated the retro picture-book, Another Perfect Day , has an old-fashioned, vintage charm, while the story is gentle and encouraging. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books about leaving one's crib days behind, and moving on to a "big kid" bed.
November 19, 2021
Good story if a young child's fears at night.
May 2, 2008
CIP: A big boy and his best stuffed friend seek the courage to move to a gigantic new bed.
Review: Great story-line about a little boy who is *almost* ready to move out of his crib and into his big-boy bed. Any toddler/preschooler and their parents will appreciate the theme. However, the illustrations are detrimental to the overall effect. They attempt to look like an old-fashioned cartoon, but some of the pages are just creepy, especially one where the big bed is depicted as a monster.
Kirkus says: "MacDonald's retro-style illustrations and colors are a breath of fresh air"
SLJ says: "the comic-book conventions, visual wit, and pulp-art palette fans know and love, and the animation in both the text and the pictures turns what might have been a ho-hum tale of trepidation into a proactive adventure with a winsome wee hero"
Review: Great story-line about a little boy who is *almost* ready to move out of his crib and into his big-boy bed. Any toddler/preschooler and their parents will appreciate the theme. However, the illustrations are detrimental to the overall effect. They attempt to look like an old-fashioned cartoon, but some of the pages are just creepy, especially one where the big bed is depicted as a monster.
Kirkus says: "MacDonald's retro-style illustrations and colors are a breath of fresh air"
SLJ says: "the comic-book conventions, visual wit, and pulp-art palette fans know and love, and the animation in both the text and the pictures turns what might have been a ho-hum tale of trepidation into a proactive adventure with a winsome wee hero"
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April 9, 2012McGhee, Alison. Bye- Bye Crib. (2008)
Annotation: A little boys parents have told himn it is time for him to move from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a big bed. The little boy is nervous but with the encouragement of his parents and some practice runs with a few of his belongings, he feels safe enough to make the change.
Themes: getting bigger, family, special toys
Ways to use with children: This could be used with toddlers who are making the trasition from cribs to beds and showing them that they don't need to be scared.
Recommended age:2- 4
Annotation: A little boys parents have told himn it is time for him to move from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a big bed. The little boy is nervous but with the encouragement of his parents and some practice runs with a few of his belongings, he feels safe enough to make the change.
Themes: getting bigger, family, special toys
Ways to use with children: This could be used with toddlers who are making the trasition from cribs to beds and showing them that they don't need to be scared.
Recommended age:2- 4
March 18, 2013
This little boy isn't a baby any more -- he's a big boy! He doesn't need diapers, or bottles, or cribs! Well, he might not be quite ready for a big boy bed yet...
Super vintage looking art features bold, solid lines and a sepia-toned color palette. Lots of white framing adds to the aged look.
I thought the emphasis on big boys having muscles was kind of weird, and the breaking of the fourth wall (the main character is talking to the reader the whole time). Not a bad book, but I think there are other books about transitioning to a bed from a crib that do the job a little better.
Super vintage looking art features bold, solid lines and a sepia-toned color palette. Lots of white framing adds to the aged look.
I thought the emphasis on big boys having muscles was kind of weird, and the breaking of the fourth wall (the main character is talking to the reader the whole time). Not a bad book, but I think there are other books about transitioning to a bed from a crib that do the job a little better.
May 10, 2013
I heard the author speak at the Fox Cities Book Festival. I purchased this book for my grandtwins, ages 20 months. They are soon to move out of the cribs so this book is age appropriate. I asked the author to dedicate the book to the boys.
The book is cute, but I do not like how the big-boy bed is initially scary. Why even introduce that? There are other ways the author could have made moving out of the crib a challenge for the child to overcome without having the bed be "monstrous." Still, I'll gift this book to the boys.
The book is cute, but I do not like how the big-boy bed is initially scary. Why even introduce that? There are other ways the author could have made moving out of the crib a challenge for the child to overcome without having the bed be "monstrous." Still, I'll gift this book to the boys.
August 14, 2016
At first, baby fears moving from the crib to the big boy bed. He imagines the bed is a monster and that he gets lost in the sheets. His parents dispel his fears. After pillow and blanket make it safely to the bed, baby jumps from the crib to the big boy bed with his kitty. Children will identify with the little boy's fears about growing up. They will also delight in seeing the baby's face on each page. The books provides multiple examples of alliteration that could assist children in practicing phonological awareness.
April 2, 2008
More bibliotherapy. And I'm not sure it's GOOD bibliotherapy. Do you really want your kid thinking his bed is a monster bed, or about his bed eating him? Is a toddler really going to worry about frostbite? The thought patterns here are NOT those of a toddler or even a preschooler!
This one may be fun for older kids. But for a good "big kid bed" story, I'd go with "My Own Big Bed" by Anna Grossnickle Hines, or "My Big Boy Bed" by Eve Bunting
This one may be fun for older kids. But for a good "big kid bed" story, I'd go with "My Own Big Bed" by Anna Grossnickle Hines, or "My Big Boy Bed" by Eve Bunting
July 24, 2008
Picture book of a boy moving from crib to big boy bed. He and his stuffed kitty have to put on a brave face and make the transition. He gives reasons like the bed will eat him, he'll get lost in the sheets, or the sheets will fall off and he'll freeze to death. After some persuasion by his parents, makes the change. The illustrations remind me of 1950 posters they used to show patriotic families, etc. Cute book for storytime!
August 20, 2010
Nice story of a little boy's transition from a crib to a "big boy's bed". It covers the range of fears that children in that situation might have, with calming answers to soothe them all. The illustrations were filled with nice, bright colors, but why does the boy's head look so much bigger, especially in the last picture, than those of either of his parents? Not outstanding, but nice.
January 7, 2009
Great fun! Once you're a big boy you have to give up baby things...like bottles and diapers- but, should you have to give up your very own crib? Our hero learns that big boys should have strong muscles and be so brave that even the prospect of sleeping in a monster bed shouldn't scare them. With illustrations reminiscent of Bazooka Joe, this one is too fun too miss.
July 23, 2009
Recommended Ages: toddlers
Mom and Dad say it's time to move to a bed, but little boy is scared to leave his crib. Will the bed eat him? Will he freeze with no covers?
Good book for those transitioning to a big-kid bed.
Mom and Dad say it's time to move to a bed, but little boy is scared to leave his crib. Will the bed eat him? Will he freeze with no covers?
Good book for those transitioning to a big-kid bed.
January 7, 2009
Maybe I will appreciate this one even more when my own baby makes the transition. My favorite part now is how the boy sends his bedding and Baby Kitty ahead of him to the big boy bed so he knows it's safe for him, too. I also like the illustration of the boy disappearing into the sheets.
January 16, 2009
This is a great book to share with a child who is ready to start sleeping in a big kid bed. It is great how the charater works to become brave and then it is time. Also I love the illustrations. Ages 2+
March 16, 2008
A boy finally says good-bye to his crib.Fun illustrations by Ross MacDonald.
April 3, 2008
cute story of a little boy moving from his crib to a big boy bed. great pictures. not for read a loud but instead for this specific situation.
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June 23, 2008book is about making the transition from a crib to a bed.
July 21, 2008
The story was just ok, but I adored the illustrations.
August 29, 2008
Loved the old-fashioned styled illustrations.
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December 31, 2008I love bye bye crib.
November 24, 2014
Didn't like the big boy bed looking scary. Why suggest it is scary if it's just unknown?
December 23, 2014
I hope this won't be too scary for my storytime crowd, since it has drawings of a monster bed. Otherwise it's a cute story about transitioning.
June 24, 2016
A little stereotypical in its depiction of the little boy (blue and muscles) but otherwise cute.
March 10, 2009
Cute story.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews