A cheery family with two young children and six dogs of varying breeds and sizes tries to bed down for the night in this comical story about cuddling up with canine companions. The rollicking, rhyming text uses some dandy rhymes (prowl, growl, howl) and invented words (rhyming “rodeo” and “heave-ho” with “to-and-fro-deo” and “pill-e-ow”) as well as exuberant descriptions and details of the dogs’ antics. After storytime, the whole family falls asleep in the parents’ big bed, and as the night progresses, the dogs take up more and more room until the humans are squeezed out of bed and into the neighboring armchair. Reorganization produces better sleeping conditions for everyone, with four dogs sleeping with the parents, one dog in each child’s bed and everyone asleep and happy by the final pages. Dog lovers will chuckle over the antics of the canines, each with a bouncy individual personality conveyed through Wilsdorf’s characteristically energetic and amusing watercolor illustrations. Anyone who lets their dogs sleep on the bed will find this tale doggone funny. (Picture book. 3-7)
