Four stories to read in the book! Four new songs to sing on the CD inside the book! You can enjoy Bed, Bed, Bed anytime and anywhere but it is especially good for bedtime, especially good to read out loud, and it's especially good to share.
Four stories to read in the book! Four new songs to sing on the CD inside the book! You can enjoy Bed, Bed, Bed anytime and anywhere but it is especially good for bedtime, especially good to read out loud, and it's especially good to share.
These poems/songs were all silly, and, to be honest, a little trippy. You could probably invent your own cadence when reading these, but once you hear the songs on the CD you will find yourself singing these as songs. The final one in the book - Bed, Bed, Bed - was my children's favorite, and the only one they listened to over and over. The others were pretty esoteric, but bedtime translates across all languages.
Holy crap! A They Might Be Giants read-along! Illustrated by Marcel Dzama! I know that this came out, like, four years ago, but I was too poor to even think about buying such a frivolity back then. Good thing I bought it now, as it was about to be returned to the publisher.
Ohmygod, I am such a nanny, but this book/cd combo makes me so so so so very happy. I mean, there isn't much to actually read, but I want to buy it for every cool kid I know. And that includes all of you grown kids on here.
I love They Might Be Giants. I love lovelove them. I've been listening to their music for more than 15 years, and it's been very exciting to hear their music evolve over that time.
Their foray into the world of children's entertainment has been exciting for me, since I'm a children's-book junkie. But while I think the "No!" family CD hits the mark, the Johns' "children's book," Bed Bed Bed is a bit off.
The design and illustrations are beautiful, of course. TMBG is known for their cutting-edge taste in designers almost as much as for their music, and so the design and illustrations of the book are bound to catch a child's attention and hold it for a bit.
The text of the book, however, is just song lyrics, and I'm of the opinion that song lyrics generally don't make good reading -- without the music, at least half (if not more) of the experience is missing. And TMBG lyrics are so typically strange, you really do need the music to complete the context.
Of course, the book was meant to be read along with the enclosed four-song CD, and I do think the book is rather pointless without the CD. I take issue, however, with the recasting of the book's title song as a "lullaby." This plodding, tuneless version of the song would put anybody to sleep, most likely in the hope of getting away from Kimya Dawson's monotonous voice. They may have done better to kick off the book and CD with the march-like, sound-effects studded version of "Bed Bed Bed" as it's featured on the "No!" album, and saved the floating, lovely "Idlewild" for the closing lullaby.
Last week I attended one of TMBG's "family concerts," and it was pretty clear that the "No!" album is building a very young sector in the TMBG listening audience. There's a lot to love about the "No!" disc, with its upbeat songs and fun animations. The Bed Bed Bed book and CD, while a beautiful package, is less accessible. I do hope the Johns will give children's publishing another shot!
I love Marcel Dzama so it is BIG treat that my baby can share in his awesomeness. The songs are funny and get totally stuck in your head. I would say that it's not really 'pre-bedtime' listening, though, because the tunes are not mellow. But they are fun, and it is a very cool combination of art and music... Baby/kid dance party!
The CD is great, but it's a little disappointing that the book only consists of the song lyrics for the CD. If you're reading this book without the CD it's not going to be as much fun..I'm pretty sure the two Johns could come up with some pretty amazing children's books that aren't just song lyrics.. here's hoping for their next endeavor!
I already loved the song, and then along comes this book, with some illustrations that are simultaneously old-fashioned-looking and trippy. Could I love TMBG any more? I don't think it's possible.
I got to read the kids at bed time, but like all of their things geated towards kids I love it too. We read the book then they listen to the cd that came with it while they mellow out in bed!
The illustrations are great. The text is just the lyrics to the songs on the accompanying CD and they work better set to music than as reading material.