Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Kiss Good Night
Illustrator: Anita Jeram
Picture Book
For ages 3 to 5
Candlewick Press, 2001 ISBN: 978-0763607807
It is a cold and stormy night outside and it is time for Sam to go to bed. After she has pulled up the covers Mrs. Bear asks Sam if he is ready to go to sleep now. Sam replies that he isn't and that he is "waiting." Of course Mrs. Bear knows what her little bear is waiting for - a story. So she reads Sam a story. When it is over Sam is still not ready. Now he needs to be tucked in snugly under his red blanket. After this he needs a glass of milk. Now Sam should be ready and yet he still tells his mother that he is "waiting." Mrs. Bear seems to have forgotten something. What can it be?
With a gentle pace and in the warm snug atmosphere in the little white house, Mrs. Bear and Sam go through their evening ritual. Mrs. Bear's loving big face is comforting and it will soothe young children as they prepare for their own bedtime. This exploration of a loving relationship between a child and its mother is both heart warming and familiar, and the story will make a wonderful nap time or bedtime tale.
