Bedtime Monster

by Heather Ayris Burnell, Bonnie Adamson (Illustrator), Eida de la Vega (Translation)

A little boy does not want to go to bed and throws a tantrum. He grows horns and a tail until his parents tame the little bedtime monster.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Monsters, Spanish Literature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2010

About the author

Heather Ayris Burnell has lived on a snowy mountaintop. She loves
anything with rainbow sprinkles on it. And although she cannot do magic,
she knows that reading is magical! Heather hopes that the Unicorn and
Yeti books will inspire readers to be a friend to others, no matter how
different they may be from themselves.

Unicorn and Yeti: Sparkly New Friends was named a Best Children's Book of 2019 by Parents Magazine.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate this 5 stars because there is equal Spanish English treatment, it may encourage bad behaviour though, or show a child how silly they look when they have a temper tantrum before bed. There are a lot of words in here a basic Spanish speaker might not know and that would be good for them. This book showcases the difference between imperfect and preterite tense. There is a surprise ending.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could see this being useful as a one-on-one bedtime read with a kid who turns into a monster at bedtime, maybe. The parents just cuddle Paul when he pitches a fit and I'm not a fan of giving into tantrums, but none of my kids ever pitched big tantrums like that so what do I know? The illustrations are fun, but I won't be using this in story time.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to go to bed when everyone else gets to stay up. Paul doesn't even realize how tired he is when his bedtime grumpiness turns him into a bedtime monster. But Mom and Dad understand. They help Paul settle down, and at the end, Dad reveals something which helps Paul realize that Mom and Dad aren't mad and that it's okay to struggle with bedtime sometimes. A comforting read. This book has the added bonus of being written in both English and Spanish which is a wonderful learning experience and allows for a bedtime story from an adult reader who may not read English fluently.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy does not want to go to bed and sprouts a tail and growls, turning into a bedtime monster.
Unlike most monster bedtime stories, this one has the main character turn into a monster, but his mom and dad help him fight the bedtime monster.

[Stefani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick story about a boy who turns into a monster when he doesn't want to go to bed. It's cute and bilingual in English and Spanish. Nothing super special, but another good story about night time.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

a pretty good look at a child throwing a temper tantrum at bedtime. Cartoony artwork.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story with great imaginative elements and good use of challenging vocabulary.

[Sarah Stumphf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little story about what happens when little boys don't want to go to bed...

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read to James

[Terry]

Parents and young children will see their own house in this story about a little boy who is tired but doesn't want to go to bed. The illustrations help exaggerate the story in fun ways for kids.

See what our young reader thought.