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Summary
Summary
Celebrate the move from a crib to a big bed! Chip! Chip! Baby sea turtle grew too big for her shell.
And you grew and grew until you were too big for your mother's tummy.
A little boy learns that the animals around him, at the beach, at the zoo, and on his family's small farm-are growing bigger and bigger. He is growing too, and soon he leaves his crib for his very own big bed!
From debut author Rita M. Bergstein comes this encouraging story-paired with gentle, luminous illustrations by Susan Kathleen Hartung, about an important milestone in a child?s life.
Author Notes
A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Susan Kathleen Hartung is the acclaimed illustrator of the award-winning Dear Juno . One Dark Night is Susan's much anticipated second book with Viking. "I was hooked immediately by this wonderfully told story," she said. "When I was a kid I used to lie in bed at night and count between the flash and boom to see how close a thunderstorm was. I still do sometimes." When asked about her inspiration for the illustrations, Susan responded, "Whenever there was a late night storm, I would get up and wander about the house without turning on any lights. I would watch the way the lightening played around the room, or I would just stare out the window and watch it flash in the clouds and make the rain drops shimmer."In the fall of 1999, after having lived in Brooklyn, New York, for fourteen years, Susan made the move back to her home state of Michigan, where by chance, she moved to the town of Brooklyn. When not in her studio, Susan can be found renovating her 140-year-old farmhouse, or spending time with family and friends in her nearby hometown of Ann Arbor. Susan lives with her two dogs, Bongo and Audie, and her cat, Gomez.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Most books about a child's first bed focus on a youngster's resistance to change or a new baby that needs the crib. Bergstein's book takes a natural approach by comparing a boy's growth to how different animals mature. In simple terms, each sequence describes how three animals are born, carried by their parents, take their first steps, and sleep in their own cozy small places and shows how a child parallels the experience. As the animals get bigger, each one graduates to a larger sleeping area, just as the boy is now able to do. The absence of the anxiety, whining, or excuses common to books of this ilk is refreshing. Rather, moving to a big bed is simply explained as the next step in the process of growing up. Soft pictures of birds, a sea turtle, a kangaroo, a koala bear, a dog, and a horse precede pictures of the youngster and his parents. The final spread, bathed in shades of blue, features several of the creatures asleep in their resting places as the boy and his teddy bear, shown through a window, are safe in their own bed. This sweet book provides a gentle, matter-of-fact introduction to a sometimes-difficult transition, and should be a first purchase for most picture-book collections.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Just as flamingos, alligators, and other animals hatch and are cared for before they get "bigger and bigger" and thus require their own beds, a human child makes similar progress. The illustrations in soft colors, somewhat static but nevertheless cozy, use a suitable teal background for the nighttime pictures. Though the message is obvious, the tone is comforting. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A little boy's birth and growth proceeds parallel to that of several animals on the farm and in the wild. Baby chick, baby alligator and baby sea turtle all grow too big for their shells, just as the little boy grows too big for his mother's tummy: "Soon they all came out-- / and so did you!" His parents carry the little boy everywhere, just like little koala bear, baby kangaroo and tiger cub. First steps are followed by sleep, each in habitat or crib. But when the little boy grows even bigger, as marked against the ruled wall, a new big bed awaits, similar to the new stall for a foal and the doghouse for a puppy. Bergstein's juxtaposition of animal behavior against human adds both comfort and acknowledgement of a little one's movement from the familiar to the new. Hartung's softly iridescent paintings add depth to the simple text in their depictions of animals and boy, each childhood milestone gently marked. A nice, if not startlingly new, addition to the genre. (Picture book. 2-4) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Like Alison McGhee's Bye-Bye Crib (2008), this well-designed title sends a comforting message to children facing the transition to a big-kid bed. Through comparisons to the animal world, Bergstein shows preschoolers that each step in their growth is natural and universal, and her direct address to young listeners adds to the story's reassuring, intimate tone. Beginning spreads show a baby flamingo, alligator, and sea turtle emerging from their shells. Then, they all came out and so did you! Hartung's softly shaded, clearly defined illustrations follow pictures of animal mothers and babies with a pair of human parents delighting over their new arrival. Later spreads compare more animal and human growth milestones ( Soon they all took their first steps and so did you! ), closing with scenes of young animals snuggled in their own cozy burrows and a young boy asleep in a twin bed. The cyclical story line echoes the soothing sounds and rhythms in the simple words, while Hartung's careful blue palette portrays nighttime as restful and inviting rather than scary. A lovely, sensitive offering.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
