Out of bed

As I write this at a late hour, there is one little one out of bed. Not well. Needs cuddles. Needs a drink. Fingers crossed for a peaceful, sleep-filled night!

However, Penny Dale’s book has not one but ten mischievous little ones out of bed. It follows the classic rhyme but with a difference –

There were ten out of bed… and the little one said, “Let’s play!”
And Hedgehog said, “Let’s play trains!” So they all played trains until Hedgehog fell asleep.

This is a fantastic book for toddlers because the rhyme is fun to say aloud, and there is plenty to look at in the pictures. It’s a great book to point at, because there is the little one and his friends to find on every page. The detailed illustrations offer lots to discuss, especially as there are different 'themes' on each page - the little one and his friends play at camping, flying, dancing, pirates and so on. It also works indirectly as a counting book, as you need to count backwards from ten.

This is also a performance book – we needed to rope in the famous ones to help – Teddy, Monkey Magoo, a couple of elephants and a few other friends. The couch is a perfect stage, and there are many small hands to help with all the rolling over (for the traditional version).

Perhaps I need to put on a show now for my little one out of bed –

There was one out of bed and the little one said, “I’m sleepy now!”