A BEDTIME STORY

by Joan Goldman Levine ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 17, 1975

In a quieter kind of turnabout than Norma Klein's If I Had My Way (KR, 1974) but essentially the same idea, Arathusela who doesn't like to go to bed decides that she will tuck in her parents who do want to rest. After story time, tooth brushing, toilet and the rest, Arathusela begins to lose patience (""I don't think you want anything to drink. You're just overtired and carrying on""), and after a kiss, hug and song, when they ask to have the door opened, she yells ""I've had it! I'm on the brink!"" It ends with Arathusela tired and lonely in the living room, then finally--as she is boss tonight--giving herself permission to climb into bed with her parents. Gall Owens' everyday black and white drawings make far less of a splash than did Cruz's blown-up fantasies for If I Had My Way, but that certainly makes them easier to feel at home with--which is more or less the point of it all.

Pub Date: April 17, 1975

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1975

Categories: CHILDREN'S