Kiss Good Night - Hardcover

Every child has his or her own personal repertoire of rationalizations for avoiding bed, and every parent has a stockpile of counter offensives. In Kiss Good Night, Mrs. Bear covers all the bases: "Hmmmm...Book, blanket, friends, milk...," but her son, Sam, isn't ready. "I'm waiting," he keeps saying. Could there be anything Mama Bear is forgetting? Amy Hest's sweet story, gorgeously illustrated by Anita Jeram in warm, earthy greens, golds, browns, and reds, provides a rhythm to the bedtime ritual that will soon have sleep-fighting tots relinquishing their day to night. The comforting manner of easygoing Mrs. Bear as she comes up against her son's quiet resistance--even while the wind blows and rain comes down outside--is an antidote to nighttime anxiety. A perfect read-aloud from Hest (In the Rain with Baby Duck) and Jeram (illustrator of Sam McBratney's bestselling Guess How Much I Love You). (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

Amy Hest is the author of many books, including WHEN JESSIE CAME ACROSS THE SEA, winner of the Christopher Medal and illustrated by P. J. Lynch, and IN THE RAIN WITH BABY DUCK, winner of the BOSTON GLOBE - HORN BOOK Award and illustrated by Jill Barton. She says that she was inspired by her own son, Sam. "When Sam was small he knew countless ways to keep me in his room at bedtime," she remembers.

Anita Jeram is the illustrator of the best-selling GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU by Sam McBratney. She is also the author-illustrator of BUNNY, MY HONEY and ALL TOGETHER NOW. About KISS GOOD NIGHT, she says it reminds her of when "the children and I are comfortable and safe, tucked up snug in bed, listening to the rain outside the window and everything around seems to glow with the warmth."