Kiss Good Night [Hardcover]

Amy Hest (Author), Anita Jeram (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

Tuck someone in with a kiss good night.

"It was a dark and stormy night on Plum Street. In the little white house, Mrs. Bear was putting Sam to bed."
Outside, the wind blows and the rain comes down. Inside, it is Sam's bedtime. Mrs. Bear reads him a story, tucks him in, and brings him warm milk. "Are you ready now, Sam?" she asks. "I'm waiting," he says. What else does Sam need before going to sleep? Could Mrs. Bear have forgotten a kiss?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

Hest (When Jessie Came Across the Sea) pays tribute to reassuring bedtime rituals that assuage a toddler's fears even on a "dark and stormy night." Sam the bear cub will not go to sleep. "I'm waiting," he keeps telling Mrs. Bear, even though she's checked off everything on the bedtime list: book, blanket, friends (his stuffed toys) and milk. Then it dawns on Sam's mom that she's forgotten the kiss good night. Sam manages to coax a total of 10 goodnight kisses from Mom. With understated repetition and lyricism, Hest establishes the coziness of the nighttime interplay as well as the menacing sounds of the storm from inside Sam's bedroom: "Splat! on the roof. Splat! Splat! on the windows. The wind blew. Whoo, whoooo." Jeram moves from the light palette and breezy artwork in Guess How Much I Love You to thickly applied acrylic paintings. Her radiantly rendered ochre and rust shades translate easily from the autumn storm outside to the sturdy furniture and heavy wool blankets inside. While her characters' expressions seldom change, she uses their contrasting physical presence to great effect. The hulking Mrs. Bear is a literal bulwark of maternal devotion, while Sam's roly-poly poses comically communicate his coy devotion. Ages 2-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 2nd edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763607800
• ISBN-13: 978-0763607807
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 0.4 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amy Hest's many acclaimed children's books include the New York Times bestseller Kiss Good Night. A three-time winner of the prestigious Christopher Award, she lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Sam book, November 3, 2007

By 

L. Kenney "Mother of four" (Taunton, Somerset UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss Good Night (Sam Books) (Board book)

You can almost hear the wind howl outside the little white house but inside it's warm & cozy. Sam can't get to sleep and his mother has to figure out what she's forgotten in the bedtime routine. My toddler loves the kissing part (he gets kisses at the same time) but the story is a bit complicated for him yet (he gets bored with the longer sentences). But he will happily point out Sam and looks forward to the ending (usually flips the pages to the parts he likes). This is a great series for a childs library and I've bought them for my children & nieces as well. Would make a nice baby gift or 1st birthday present. I would recommend anything by this illustrator as well - you really get the feel of the weather, the warmth of the house, the smells of his mother's baking and the taste of the warm milk.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bedtime Made Special, August 14, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss Good Night (Hardcover)

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind blew, whoo, whooo. The rain hit against the roof and windows, splat, splat. But inside, Mama Bear is putting her cub to bed. "Ready now, Sam?" "Oh no," said Sam "I'm waiting." So mother begins all their nighttime rituals. First, they read a book together. She tucks Sam in, head to toe, with his red blanket and arranges his stuffed animal friends. Then they share a glass of milk. And still Sam tells her, "I'm waiting" What could Mrs Bear have forgotten. She thinks and goes back over her bedtime chores and then remembers. "Kiss goodnight, Sam." And she kisses him once, twice and then twice more..... Amy Hest has written a lovely bedtime story that's cozy and comforting and just perfect for pre-schoolers. Her simple, gentle, quiet text is beautifully illustrated by Anita Jeram's soft expressive earthtoned artwork. Kiss Good Night is a charming bedtime story that's sure to become a new favorite in your house and may help your little ones fall asleep with its easy familiar rituals.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost makes you wish for bad weather!, November 4, 2007

By 

Jodi "languagejunkie" (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kiss Good Night (Sam Books) (Board book)

The wind is howling and the rain is slamming down, but Mama Bear is getting Sam all cozy and warm and tucked into bed. The story is sweet, but the illustrations, in my opinion, make this book better than your average good-night story. The warmth and coziness jump off the pages, making the reader almost envious of Sam and his comfy, soft bed. My daughter (4 months old) is still too young to understand this book (I'm sure she's too young to even understand what's going on when I read to her!) but she will stare, mesmerized, at every page. This has been a really fun book for us!