My Own Big Bed [Hardcover]

Anna Grossnickle Hines (Author), Mary Watson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The independent little girl in this snug story loves her brand new big bed but . . . What if I fall out? What if I get lonely? What if I get lost? What if I get scared? Just right for young children making the transition from crib to bed, and featuring Mary Watson's comforting and realistic paintings, My Own Big Bed celebrates self-reliance, eases fears, and -- with a tuck and a kiss from Mommy and Daddy -- promises a safe and cozy night's sleep.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hines (When We Married Gary) faultlessly portrays the ambivalence of a toddler when she moves from her crib to a big bed. A new big bed of her own is both exciting and scary for this girl narrator, but in confronting her fears, she also discovers inner reserves of self-reliance: "I can get in, and I can get out?in and out all by myself. What if I fall out? I can fix that." Watson (The Market Lady and the Mango Tree) shows the girl's resourceful solution: her teddy bear and stuffed alligator lounge comfortably atop a raft of pillows surrounding the bed, and demonstrate that any accidental fall will be amply cushioned. As the protagonist tries out her newfound space?"I can stretch and stretch and not touch anything, not anything"?she wonders, "What if I get lonely?" So she assembles a collection of appealing dolls and plush animals to keep herself company. And in the final spreads, Daddy and Mommy come, not to assuage her fears, all of which she's handily put to rest, but to read a bedtime story and deliver goodnight kisses. This rite of passage is astutely and economically observed, without lapsing into preachiness or preciousness. Watson's combination of neatly framed vignettes and full-bleed spreads makes skillful use of painterly realism. The brown-eyed, blonde-haired heroine is engaging and playful, and will likely inspire other toddlers to follow her example. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-A little girl explores the problems and joys of her first big-girl bed. For each fear, "What if I fall out?" "What if I get lonely?" she has a solution: pillows around the bed and a pile of toys next to her. On the plus side, she can stretch her arms out as wide as they will go and make tunnels under the covers and room for her father to sit as he reads to her. After the story and a kiss from her mother, she is cozy and safe. The simple text is from a young child's point of view and the realistic watercolors are saved from being too sweet by the shifting expression on the chubby blond preschooler's face and by her squirming, twisting poses as she investigates the possibilities of her new bed. Warm and reassuring, this book will strike a chord with any young child adjusting to the first steps out of babyhood.
Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition (October 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688155995
• ISBN-13: 978-0688155995
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes the transition from crib to bed a piece of cake!, October 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: My Own Big Bed (Hardcover)

We bought this book for our daughter about a month before we were going to move her from her crib to her new "big girl bed". We've heard horror stories from other parents who experienced many sleepless nights when they tried to put their child in a regular bed. After reading her this book for about a month, we finally put her new bed in her room and it was a success! She slept the whole night and the night after that and so on! She never climbed out of her crib but we wanted to move her to a big bed (not a toddler bed) before she became too attached to her crib. She'll be 2 in a few days. Buy this book--it's GREAT!!! Good Luck!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for transitioning the Tot out of the crib, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Own Big Bed (Hardcover)

This book was given to my two year old daughter to transition her out of her crib. It did exactly that. She was very interested in sleeping in her big bed after reading this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Better For Big Bed Transitioning!, May 2, 2005

By 

M. Tally - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Own Big Bed (Hardcover)

I also bought an Elmo big bed book, and a Barney big bed book because these were characters my daughter knows...to my surprise, when choosing a book to read at night, she ALWAYS picked up this book. We practiced the things that the little girl in the book does together (i.e. in a big bed you can stretch your arms out wide with no bars to get in the way), and when it came time for the big bed, my daughter jumped in and stretched out her arms. (Although the other two are good too), She seemed to understand more what this book was trying to explain than the other two. In addition to talking about how fun a big girl bed was going to be, we read this book for a week before going to a big bed. Our big bed transition went smoothly and without a hitch!!!