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The Bed Book
This delightful rhyming catalogue of desirable beds appears in paperback for the first time.'Quentin Blake has matched Sylvia Plath's incisive nonsense verses with superbly descriptive drawings, in a book that has the zest and inventiveness, and the wide applicability, of a good family joke.'- Margery Fisher in The Sunday Times
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
5 people are currently reading
1044 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Plath
285 books28.6k followersSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the most influential and emotionally powerful authors of the 20th century. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she demonstrated literary talent from an early age, publishing her first poem at the age of eight. Her early life was shaped by the death of her father, Otto Plath, when she was eight years old, a trauma that would profoundly influence her later work.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
December 28, 2025
Yes, THE Sylvia Plath wrote a picture book for kids, which I now have finally read thanks to Miriam. Sweet, warm watercolor illustrations by Emily Arnold McCully that remind us Plath was a mother who in fact like most mothers read stories to her children. And wrote them.
A bed for fishing, a bed for cats, a bed for a group of acrobats.
The right sort of bed
(if you see what I mean)
is a bed that might
be a Submarine
A tank bed. Pocket-sized beds. Beds on Elephant Backs, beds that fly. . .
A bed for fishing, a bed for cats, a bed for a group of acrobats.
The right sort of bed
(if you see what I mean)
is a bed that might
be a Submarine
A tank bed. Pocket-sized beds. Beds on Elephant Backs, beds that fly. . .
February 7, 2012
This was a favorite bed time read, many years before I ever knew anything else by or about Sylvia Plath. I so wanted one of these magical beds, especially the submarine bed or the snack bed or the flying bed or... well, they're all pretty awesome. Plath even made the hammock sound special and enticing.
November 29, 2025
La mejor 💘
February 7, 2022
I hadn't realised that Sylvia Plath had written some nonsense verse - and then this weekend I came across this copy of 'The Bed Book', which is a delightful rhyming catalogue of desirable beds, superbly illustrated by Quentin Blake's drawings.
The author begins by pointing out, in verse, that there are different sizes of beds and that they are made for sleeping or resting. However, she then tells us, 'the Best beds are much more interesting'.
There are beds for fishing, beds for cats and beds for troupes of acrobats and Quentin Blake illustrates each one admirably. Submarine beds, jet-propelled beds, 'For visiting Mars', a snack bed (sounds just right - and mine sometimes is!), a Spottable bed, with blankets all splotches of black, blue and pink', and a tank bed that has 'cranks and wheels and cogs and levers to pull if you're stuck in the bogs ...'
Also desirable is a Bird-Watcher's bed, a pocket-size bed (doesn't sound too clever), and an elephant bed from which 'you pick bananas right out of the trees' and from which 'You can climb up the trunk and slide down behind'. There's also a North Pole bed, 'It's as warm as toast under ten feet of snow' (it needs to be warm) but overall they are all 'the beds to climb into' and to be 'tucked-in-tight'.
So 'nighty-night little turn-out-the-light little Bed!'
It's a great little fun book for all the family and I will view Sylvia Plath quite differently from now on.
The author begins by pointing out, in verse, that there are different sizes of beds and that they are made for sleeping or resting. However, she then tells us, 'the Best beds are much more interesting'.
There are beds for fishing, beds for cats and beds for troupes of acrobats and Quentin Blake illustrates each one admirably. Submarine beds, jet-propelled beds, 'For visiting Mars', a snack bed (sounds just right - and mine sometimes is!), a Spottable bed, with blankets all splotches of black, blue and pink', and a tank bed that has 'cranks and wheels and cogs and levers to pull if you're stuck in the bogs ...'
Also desirable is a Bird-Watcher's bed, a pocket-size bed (doesn't sound too clever), and an elephant bed from which 'you pick bananas right out of the trees' and from which 'You can climb up the trunk and slide down behind'. There's also a North Pole bed, 'It's as warm as toast under ten feet of snow' (it needs to be warm) but overall they are all 'the beds to climb into' and to be 'tucked-in-tight'.
So 'nighty-night little turn-out-the-light little Bed!'
It's a great little fun book for all the family and I will view Sylvia Plath quite differently from now on.
March 10, 2012
Yes, this is by THE Sylvia Plath, but it’s one I’d never heard of until recently. I’m glad her children had/have it. It shows another side of her, and I think shows what a fun mother and person she could be, and just highlights the waste that was her premature death. Now, her poem on its own is whimsical and fun. But for me what makes this book and the wonderful illustrations. They bring the poem’s words to life. Very enjoyable! This would make a fine bedtime book, as long as the little ones aren’t prone to ask too many detailed questions about its author. I would have been completely enchanted by this book as a young child. The poem and illustrations are very inventive, and invite children to imagine their own ideal beds. 4 ½ stars
January 29, 2013
Great imagination!
Most Beds are Beds
For sleeping or resting
But the best Beds are much
More interesting
If we have nothing better
To do
A Facebook Bed
Is for me and for you
This lovely little bed
Is specially for you
If you check Facebook mobile
Every minute or two
With its four wheels
You may even move around
You can chatter or clatter
Or change your background
If you post braggy updates
In an effort to woo
Then the Facebook Bed
Is the place for Hullabaloo
A Facebook Bed
Has a touch screen
That you can use 24 seven
Like a king or a queen
When a friend posts something
During your sleep
It wakes you up
With a silly beep
While others spend time
In counting sheep
With a Facebook bed
You take a quick peep
Now you may still wonder
Why for me and for you?
Remember that we
Have nothing better to do
Most Beds are Beds
For sleeping or resting
But the best Beds are much
More interesting
If we have nothing better
To do
A Facebook Bed
Is for me and for you
This lovely little bed
Is specially for you
If you check Facebook mobile
Every minute or two
With its four wheels
You may even move around
You can chatter or clatter
Or change your background
If you post braggy updates
In an effort to woo
Then the Facebook Bed
Is the place for Hullabaloo
A Facebook Bed
Has a touch screen
That you can use 24 seven
Like a king or a queen
When a friend posts something
During your sleep
It wakes you up
With a silly beep
While others spend time
In counting sheep
With a Facebook bed
You take a quick peep
Now you may still wonder
Why for me and for you?
Remember that we
Have nothing better to do
October 23, 2016
¡Estas son las camas
para ti y para mí!
Estas son las camas
para irnos a dormir:
(...)
Cualquier tipo de cama
mientras sea
especial y extraña
y contenga sorpresas.
Camas de diversas
medidas y formas,
NO sólo una blanca cunita
de sábanas remetidas.
Buenas noches chiquita.
¡Apaga la luz de tu camita!
El Libro de Cama, Sylvia Plath
para ti y para mí!
Estas son las camas
para irnos a dormir:
(...)
Cualquier tipo de cama
mientras sea
especial y extraña
y contenga sorpresas.
Camas de diversas
medidas y formas,
NO sólo una blanca cunita
de sábanas remetidas.
Buenas noches chiquita.
¡Apaga la luz de tu camita!
El Libro de Cama, Sylvia Plath
September 6, 2018
Surprisingly, Sylvia Plath's only book for young children, written in the early sixties and published after her death, is nearly as intense as her poetry. Her playful and imaginative take on the classic bed time story begins with a statement about beds---that they should NOT be ordinary, that the best beds are different. "Not just a white little, tucked-in-tight little, nighty-night little, turn-out-the-light little bed." Indeed not! We then go on a night time adventure on a rocket bed, a snack bed, and an elephant bed among a few whimsical others.
I can however see that her voice seems a bit forced, like she's trying to keep her tone light, and reign in her intensity, which can make some of the rhymes seem stretched and stilted. Other than that small issue (and some antiquated language), which probably only glares out at me because I have been reading Plath's other work for quite a number of years, I have no complaints about this delightful book, which I ordered from my local main library. The illustrations done by Emily Arnold McCully are wonderfully done and deserve a review all their own, but do not feel qualified to give, as I am not much of visual artist, nor am I an art critic. Do pick up the book and read it to a little one, or surprise a Sylvia Plath scholar!
I can however see that her voice seems a bit forced, like she's trying to keep her tone light, and reign in her intensity, which can make some of the rhymes seem stretched and stilted. Other than that small issue (and some antiquated language), which probably only glares out at me because I have been reading Plath's other work for quite a number of years, I have no complaints about this delightful book, which I ordered from my local main library. The illustrations done by Emily Arnold McCully are wonderfully done and deserve a review all their own, but do not feel qualified to give, as I am not much of visual artist, nor am I an art critic. Do pick up the book and read it to a little one, or surprise a Sylvia Plath scholar!
January 11, 2018
Best book ever!
Ohhh I wish this wondrous gift was still in print. Alas, it is not and at this point I can't spend the $60 to purchase it online. I had a copy in the 70's as a little girl and read it almost every night. It was my comfort. Dreamy illustrations and simple, beautiful poetry by Plath.
Ohhh I wish this wondrous gift was still in print. Alas, it is not and at this point I can't spend the $60 to purchase it online. I had a copy in the 70's as a little girl and read it almost every night. It was my comfort. Dreamy illustrations and simple, beautiful poetry by Plath.
November 20, 2020
No sé muy bien cómo puntuar este libro. Entiendo que no lo puedes comparar con el resto de la obra de Plath, así que supongo que hay que valorarlo como lo que es: un poema infantil que destaca por lo curioso de su temática, sus ilustraciones y por no ser el tipo de poesía con el que se suele asociar a la autora.
December 7, 2022
No tienen idea de cuanto disfrutè leer este libro con mi hija <3
August 8, 2021
me encanta encontrarme con los destellos de una sylvia plath ocurrente y divertidísima. el suicidio de plath suele oscurecer -muy injustamente- su imaginación, sus modos graciosos y sus placeres por las cosas comunes de una vida.
August 22, 2025
Sylvia Plath i Quentin Blake, un featuring q no esperava! Divertit i per desfer corets d’infants abans d’anar a dormir <3 m’agradaria llegir l’original per cert
July 1, 2023
cómo una de las mentes más atormentadas y dolorosas de la literatura escribió los cuentos para niños más tiernos del mundo. te amo sylvia ❤️🩹.
April 23, 2013
This was my all time favorite picture book as a child. Unfortunately it has been out of print since 1989, so copies are hard to come by. Sylvia Plath also wrote the Bell Jar and rumor has it she wrote this book for her own children.
The book is filled with the most fantastic descriptions and illustrations of beds built for outlandish adventures, fantasies, and dreams. It just really sets a child up to have beautiful dreams.
If it were still in print, I'd give a copy at every baby shower I attend.
The book is filled with the most fantastic descriptions and illustrations of beds built for outlandish adventures, fantasies, and dreams. It just really sets a child up to have beautiful dreams.
If it were still in print, I'd give a copy at every baby shower I attend.
July 23, 2012
Wonder if Dallas Clayton's An Awesome Book was inspired by this - they share similarities in content and style. I can just imagine kid Dallas falling asleep to this book; as, I'm sure, have tens of other children. Also reminded me of Dr. Seuss at times - lightly. Gorgeous text to match gorgeous illustration - Plath can do just anything.
May 17, 2020
Lindo poema para niños...
October 28, 2022
..bērnu grāmata par gultām. to lasot raisās fantāzija.
February 23, 2023
Per fortuna Mondadori ha deciso di ripubblicare nella collana Contemporanea questo splendido titolo Mondojunior che era finito fuori catalogo. La Plath aveva scritto dei racconti per bambini quando i suoi figli erano molto piccoli - non hanno purtroppo potuto sentirli dalla voce della loro mamma - e qui ne trovate tre, illustrati da tre diversi illustratori. L'ultimo, che dà il titolo alla raccolta, è illustrato da Quentin Blake e presenta anche il testo in lingua originale. Una chicca imperdibile, anche perché la traduzione è dell'amatissima Bianca Pitzorno.
May 12, 2016
I've always been a little fascinated with Sylvia Plath, so when I recently read she had written some children's stories I was excited and curious. This imaginative tale of lively beds was fun to read aloud to my son and makes a perfect bedtime story. The illustrations brought to life each scene perfectly. I hope to find a copy to purchase.
May 24, 2016
Who knew that Sylvia Plath wrote a children's bedtime book? Not me! Published in 1976, and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, it's quite delightful. The rhyming appealed, and between the descriptions and the pictures I wanted all of those fun beds - particularly the elephant bed. This could be fun for pajama storytime with an older group.
June 13, 2015
I was very interested to see how Sylvia Plath would approach a childrens' bedtime story! This delightful bedtime rhyme illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully is long out of print, but very enjoyable. ...'in a Spottable Bed/it never matters/where jam rambles/ where paint splatters!"
December 3, 2016
Fun story about peculiar beds with drawings à la Quentin Blake
April 30, 2019
qué preciosidad de edición <3
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February 5, 2024Compré este librito hace media hora y en lo que esperaba a que Dani saliera del trabajo lo he leído. Es una edición bilingüe e ilustrada monísima del Libro de las Camas, que es un poema para niños que trata sobre —lo habéis adivinado— todos los tipos de camas que existen. Habiendo desbloqueado esta nueva obsesión que es para mí Sylvia Plath, me ha parecido dulcísimo. Qué ganas de leérselo a mis hijas/os antes de dormir <3
(Lo compré en la Buchhandlung zum Wetzstein en Freiburg y lo leí al sol :3).
(Lo compré en la Buchhandlung zum Wetzstein en Freiburg y lo leí al sol :3).
April 28, 2024
l’antoni m’ha regalat aquest llibre per una brometa interna i és de les coses que més il·lusió m’han fet mai. m’agradaria moltíssim viure en aquest llibre… és tendresa, vulnerabilitat i molt divertit (com tu, antoni)!!! que feliç m’ha fet!! que contenta de la nostra amistat (i d’haver tornat a llegir un conte)!!! tinc molta sort 🫂🌟
June 24, 2020
Creatively written
I've never anything about bed so much haha.
I've never anything about bed so much haha.
February 12, 2022
So cute, felt like a kid again
June 8, 2024
I didn’t know until reading Lovers & Liars last month that Sylvia Plath wrote a children’s book. I had to interlibrary loan it right away to see for myself. What a delightful book about beds of all kinds like Acrobat Beds, Elephants Beds & Pocket-Sized Beds the size of a pea. Perfect bedtime - or anytime story for kids of all ages. Even me.
July 26, 2024
I snagged this book at a thrift store for my boys. Something told me it looked like a special book. This book did not disappoint. My boys loved it so much! It was such a nice bed time book. My son loved it so much he begged me to let him stay up late to read it to himself again. This should be a part of everyone’s collection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews