From Publishers Weekly
"Jed loved his crib./ It felt just right./ Till his family surprised him/ with a big bed one night," begins this humorous tale of a first rite of passage. For Jed, the idea of leaving his cozy crib is far from appealing. With a roly-poly poignancy, poor Jed imagines himself first dwarfed by the bed's monstrousness, then falling out with such a velocity that he rolls down the hall. His extended family exhausts every possible enticement new sheets, big boy pajamas from his aunt, pleadings from Grandma. But with a little reverse psychology on their part, and some strategic bouncing and tickling from Jed, the hero is soon happily ensconced between the covers. Newcomer Friedman's simple dialogue relies on a few forced rhymes (e.g., " `Here's something for you,'/ said Jed's Auntie Stella./ `We think you'll love it/ now that you're a big fella,' "), but Jahn-Clough's (Missing Molly) childlike stylizations and bright colors do a fine job of endowing the story with both emotional weight and circus-like comedy. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Drawing on a familiar theme, this story told in rollicking rhyme describes a youngster's reluctant rite of passage. It begins by introducing a beguiling redheaded toddler: "Jed loved his crib./It felt just right./Till his family surprised him/with a big bed one night." As far as he is concerned, things go down hill from this point. No amount of cajoling or any manner of bribe is sufficient to convince him that he will not fall out of or be swallowed up by the big new bed. Jahn-Clough's naive pen-and-gouache illustrations do a great job of conveying the disproportionate sense of scale Jed experiences as he feels dwarfed, overwhelmed, and intimidated by this developmental challenge. Finally, his sister concocts a plan: the entire family, including an uncle, aunt, and grandma, piles into the bed sans Jed. A little reverse psychology brings out his proprietary instincts and he announces, "BUT THAT'S MY BIG BED!" Mission accomplished, the clan tucks Jed in for a night's repose. Use this title with Lindsay Camp's The Biggest Bed in the World (HarperCollins, 2000) and Anna G. Hines's My Own Big Bed (Greenwillow, 1998) for a fun thematic preschool storytime.
Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
