TEN IN A BED

by Mary--Adapt. & Illus. Rees ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1988

A first book by a British illustrator--a rollicking, favorite counting rhyme with an entertaining new twist at the end. Ten tots of assorted sizes and colors crowd a large brass bed--till the pigtailed youngest, with a wicked gleam in her eye, asserts territorial imperative. As each in turn is jettisoned (""roll over, roll over""), the illustrations show the displaced staggering groggily to bathroom, kitchen, and yard to get ready for the day. Having ousted alt the rest the little one announces, ""I'm not getting up!"" and is firmly and physically contradicted by her elders, who set out for school after exacting a fitting revenge. Rees infuses her full-page pen-and-watercolor illustrations with riotous life and telling detail of the sort that rewards repeated rereading: her pictures expand the simple idea of the counting rhyme to a sly commentary on group dynamics and the normal behavior of cheerfully unsupervised children. A mildly subversive, delightful version of a childhood chestnut.

Pub Date: April 1, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Joy Street/Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1988

Categories: CHILDREN'S