Customer Reviews

Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite!

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gilbert is a fuzzy critter- -perhaps a possum. One summer, his parents send him off to an overnight at camp. Gilbert is very excited about playing with the big kids at camp, but the big kids tell a ghost story around the campfire, which makes Gilbert very scared. Younger kids may find the book a little scary, but 4 to 6 year olds may find it quite engaging. The book has about 850 words.

It is so disheartening to see how poor grammar in children's books has been ignored, perhaps has even become acceptable...?

The book contained 56 paragraphs. Six of the paragraphs started with "But," and one started with "And." Three other sentences started with "But" as well.

There were several sentence fragments:

Everyone shut off their flashlights. Except Gilbert.

Written and illustrated by Diane deGroat, Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite! is a lovely story about young raccoon, skunk, and porcupine children going to sleep-away camp for the first time. With the important moral message that it's okay to be afraid of the dark, yet the power to be brave lies within us all, Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite! is an excellent and recommended picturebook to prepare young children for the rigors of spending days and nights away from home.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer

on 09/21/2008

Gilbert has his first overnight trip to camp. All his friends are going, as well as some kids that aren't as nice. Lewis keeps trying to scare Gilbert by telling him Camp Hi-Dee-Ho is haunted. Everyone knows there's no such thing as ghosts--or are there?

Gilbert's experience is one that many children face when going to camp for the first--or fifth--time. The fear of the unknown may stem from the kind of teasing Gilbert gets from Lewis, or it may come from the imagination with no prompting. Either way, facing fears is something every child eventually endures.

Diane deGroat handles this fairly well, although, as a mom, I question how Gilbert handles Lewis when the tables are turned. As long as parents remember the importance of reading with their children, they can address whether Gilbert does the right thing. For reference: Gilbert gets even with Lewis for scaring him.

As always with this series, the illustrations are attractively done. Some "spooky" scenes in the middle can be revealed to children as not so scary (i.e.: that tree doesn't have faces, it has knots and broken-off branches).

This book is a decent pick for children ready to go to camp, and it may also be well-suited to Halloween time.

My son's Nana bought him one of the Gilbert and Friends books. I loved it so much, I looked them up on this website, we ordered this one and absolutely love it too. Good quality pages, great writer and good morals.. Love these books.