Back to Bed, Ed!

by Sebastien Braun

Getting ready for bed is lots of fun at Ed's house. Ed plays silly games with Dad. He has a drink and brushes his teeth. He takes a bath and cuddles with Mom for a bedtime story. Then Ed is off to bed with hugs and kisses. But while Ed loves going to bed, he doesn't like staying there. Night after night he tiptoes down the hall and climbs into Mom and Dad's big bed. Mom and Dad aren't getting much sleep so they come up with a plan to keep Ed in his bed.

Ed doesn't think much of Mom and Dad's plan-so he comes up with one on his own!

Author-illustrator Sebastien Braun offers a charming spin on the perennial challenge of getting children to stay in bed. Young readers will easily sympathize with Ed's bedtime anxieties, and will be delighted with the way the young hero ultimately tames his fears. The uncluttered illustrations, featuring bright, bold colors and simple scenes that focus on the characters and their actions, perfectly complement the simplicity of the story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Animals, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

"I’m French and studied fine and applied arts at Strasbourg University.
I taught applied arts before becoming a freelance illustrator, first of all for editorial clients in Paris.
When I moved to London in 2000 I developed my illustrations for children and since then have been
working exclusively on children’s picture books.

If you’d like more information about my work, please drop me a line.
I’m a member of the Association of Illustrators."

from http://www.sebastienbraun.com/about

Reviews

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read for kids who are having trouble sleeping in their own bed. The words are simple enough for beginning readers, and it has a lot of sound effects in it, so the little ones will probably enjoy that part of reading it the most. Plus the art is nice and colorful, done in ink, marker, and pencil, so it is visually appealing for little ones as well. I recommend this for ages 8 and under, especially if they are transitioning to having their own room.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book combines bright, outlined illustrations with fun, simple text for children to solve an issue many parents have to deal with....getting their toddler to stay in bed. For little Ed, the issue isn't going to bed, the issue is staying in HIS bed. Once his parents place him in his bed, little Ed tip-toes down the hall into his parents room and tries to crawl into their bed. His parents try to explain that he's a BIG Mouse but that doesn't help because Ed thinks that there's monsters in his room. How can his parents help him overcome his fears?

I liked how the problem is solved but I didn't like how they closed their door to him and how it made him cry. I don't feel they should have shut themselves off from him - he had to feel all alone and what a horrible feeling for a little child. When dad comes out of his bedroom, a night light is put on for Ed and he tucks him back in his bed. Dad then reminds him what a big mouse he is, how he has his friend sleeping with him and that there's no need to be scared. Ed finally takes matters into his own hands and he solves his monster problem. A cute book that some kids and parents can relate to. 4.5 stars

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed enjoys all that leads up to going to bed: playing with Dad, taking a bath, story with Mom, and getting tucked in. But once he was alone in the dark, he didn’t like it any more. So he would tiptoe out to his parents’ bedroom and climb in their bed to sleep. The problem was that his parents weren’t getting much sleep at all with him in there. Finally after sleeping through the alarm and getting up much too late, his parents decided that he could not sleep with them any more. Dad tucked him back into bed and made sure his nightlight was on. But still Ed could not stay in bed – that is, he couldn’t stay in bed until all of his stuffed animals joined him.

Braun’s book design is a joy to read. His round headed mice are charming as are the humorous touches he puts in the illustrations. From the baby dumping out its food unnoticed in the background to the favorite stuffed rabbit with the alarmed look on its face at all times, Braun has created a complete world here. His writing is a great length for young listeners who may also be dealing with being scared at bedtime. The writing too has a sense of humor and place.

Recommended for any family transitioning out of a family bed (planned or unplanned), all children will enjoy entering this world of friendly mice. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worked well for pajama storytime.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed thinks it's too dark in his room and comes to sleep with his parents. The next night he is afraid of monsters. Each night, his parents get very little sleep. They finally lock the door and tell him he is too big to sleep with them, he needs to sleep alone. So he gets up and finds all his animal friends and they sleep together in his own bed. He gets a great night sleep, but mom and dad still have baby sister crying to wake them.

[Khalejooon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know whether I like this book or not. The pictures are beautiful and nice. The story is simple. But I think after several times of reading this book, why do Ed's parents keep ignoring Ed's feelings? He has trouble sleeping but his parents keep saying go to bed!
So I changed a little bit while I read to my daughter. I don't want my daughter to feel her feelings are not important even If I am so tired and sleepy!

[Abby Peskin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book with very cute illustrations, about a mouse that goes to bed just fine at night but doesn’t stay in his bed, instead climbing into his parents’ bed and sleeping there for most of the night. This book talks about how his parents try different strategies to get him to get to sleep in his own bed.

[skcocnaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4.5 stars for me. This book had really sweet illustrations. I like that the parents set up boundaries even though it was hard for them. Unfortunately, having 5 kids I know it’s rarely this simple. But, I still appreciate the sentiment.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thankful this was never a problem we had with our daughter. Ed the mouse doesn't want to sleep in his own bed, so he keeps coming into his parents' bed. They don't sleep well, oversleep alarms, etc. But his parents decide a plan! Cute and thoughtful.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, and a subject that comes up fairly frequently, so I'm going to park this here.

[Nicole Salter Braun · Rating 3 out of 5]

What child hasn't gotten out of bed night after night to find solace in their parents bed? Ed finally overcomes his fears

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book for a big brother or big sister who is learning to stay in their own bed at night.

[Anthony Blitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really cute book, but I am not a fan of how the parents approached the issue with locking their door.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a head turner every page due to the excellent illustrations and the authors use of sentences that makes it an adorable, easy-to-read, wonderful book.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ed loved getting ready for bed...but Ed hated staying in bed..." In this story, Ed keeps getting out of his big boy bed and joining his parents in bed. He keeps them from sleeping well because of his tossing and turning. Ed wakes his parents up every night and finally they get frustrated enough to make a plan. They close their door at night and Dad escorts Ed back to bed. Dad reassures Ed who piles all his stuffed animals in his bed and falls fast asleep.

First, I love the wording of this story. "He played games with Dad, clip clop." There are sound words to accompany actions throughout the book. Mom and Dad go through a wonderful bedtime routine to reassure Ed that he is loved. The illustrations are adorable even in their simplicity.

My only difficulty was when the parents yelled at Ed. They had every right to be upset. They were tired and cranky. But I would have liked to see them tell Ed that they were frustrated and that there was a new bedtime plan. Ed, facing a closed door at night, was a bit traumatized. Otherwise mom and dad did every thing right throughout this book. I think a wise parent can modify the wording on this part of the book to make it excellent. The part where Ed snuggles with his stuffed animals is adorable.

[Kapila · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is it about mice in books that make them so attractive to children? (And why are we generally so keen to trap and kill them in real life?) SB definitely brings out the uber-cute-factor of mice in this endearing, bedtime tale of a little mouse named Ed who would much rather sleep between his mum and dad, much to their chagrin, than in his own bed. There are energetic double-page spreads of solid yellow and other bold colors marking the difference between day and night, then pages with plenty of repetition and onomatopoeia which children can easily copy, and there are illustrations framed in black, of cool, soothing hues in purples and blues. I especially appreciated Ed's ability to help himself deal with his fears (by getting together his little stuffed-animal-people-friends into bed and telling them to not be scared, just as Dad had told him to), and loved the powerful imagery of Ed reining in the dinosaurs that he once feared - riding one through the air with his stuffed-animal-people-friends (the dinosaurs have wings). It's a very loving, comforting story that has balance and a noticeable touch of humour both in picture and plot.

[Kate McCartney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed loves to get ready for bed, all the fun things that lead up to it. The hitch comes when once he is tucked and left alone. So night after night he leaves his bed and climbs into his parent's bed. He makes sleeping very very uncomfortable for his parents. They attempt for several night to return him to his bed. Eventually he finds his own solution. As a parent who also deals with a child who is unwilling to sleep in her own bed I enjoyed it. I find Ed's solution comes to easily and is a little unrealistic. The pictures are very cute. I would still recommend this title to parent dealing with their reluctant solo sleeper.

[Nielson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parents will recognize the all too familiar theme of this story....their kids won't stay in bed at night! Ed the mouse loves the routine of going to bed, but he hates to stay in bed! He finds excuses each night to get up and as his parents tiredly mumble "Go back to bed, Ed" he climbs right in with them, meaning that someone (not Ed!) gets a poor nights sleep. They finally decide it has to stop and come up with a plan to get him to stay in bed. Although their plan doesn't work as hoped, Ed comes up with his own method that works! If only it could be that easy right?! Cute story, wasn't crazy about the illustrations.

[Jennifer Ricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised that my five-year-old LOVES it. I thought it would be too young for him, but he thinks it's hilarious.

We don't have a problem with him coming into our room, he just hates going to bed, period, but once he finally stays there he sleeps just fine in his own room. So I thought that it wouldn't even be that applicable to us, but he loves it.

Now we can say, "Back to Bed, Ed!" as an inside joke whenever he isn't going to bed very well, and it lightens everything up and relaxes us all.

What a lucky library find! (And we might need our own copy after it's due...)

[Christie Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute simple book with whimsical illustrations. Ed loves getting ready for bed and loves going to bed, but HATES staying in bed. The parents come up with a solution. And so does Ed. A very funny surprise ending. At second reading, not quite as funny because I missed an important aspect of the illustrations the first time through. Perfect for young listeners who don't like staying in bed, AND for children who don't want to go to bed in the first place.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about art imitating life in our household! I'm giving this one five stars because since I read this and put several stuffed animals in Will's bed with him at bedtime, there have been three successful nights of him staying in there instead of wandering into our room sometime between 3-5AM. The decent night's sleep is well alone worth the five stars! And now that I've crowed about it, it'll end tonight. :L

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young mouse loves getting ready for bed but doesn’t like having to actually go to bed. When Ed can’t sleep, he makes sure that Mom and Dad won’t get to sleep either. A soothing bedtime story with great parent role models and an empowering solution as Ed learns to handle his anxiety with a few stuffed animal friends. Observant readers will notice the baby in the crib and may figure out the source of some of Ed’s bedtime worries. A nice twist that will leave readers smiling.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, as a parent, it's hard to set boundaries with your kids--especially when it comes to all things bedtime related! There's one picture, in particular, that I fully identified with (a very sleepy Mummy and Daddy at the breakfast table, struggling to pull it together and just get the day going), but all the pictures are fantabulous and the text is terrific too.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun little story to read aloud with younger children, especially those little ones who like to crawl in bed with Mom and Dad in the middle of the night.

Not sure it will stop those midnight wanderings, but it's a sweet little story and it is fairly easy for beginning readers. The illustrations are adorable; we enjoyed pointing out the funny little details.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a parent who still often ends up with children in my bed at night, this book made me laugh. The illustrations, though simple, give a hilarious picture of what it's like to deal with "bed-hoppers." My one criticism is that the solution Ed's parents use works much faster than it would in real life, but the rest of the book makes it worth that small annoyance.

[Emily Goodin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story because I think a lot of young kids can relate to it! Just about every child goes through the phase of being scared to sleep by themselves. This story could open up a discussion about how students reacted if they ever went through that phase. It would be great to have on the shelves in a kindergarten or maybe even first grade classroom. I highly reccommend it!

[Alyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any parent that has a child that refuses to sleep in their own bed would understand this book. My 6 year old loves this book because he can easily relate to Ed. The going to bed and sneaking into his parent's bed in the middle of the night. In the end, Ed does learn to sleep on his own, which is good. I admit, my son won't sleep on his own unless he does the same thing too.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

After going through the typical bedtime routine, Ed just can't stay in his bed. Frustration ensues for everyone! A sweet story that will help start discussions about bedtime routines (including staying in your own bed). But, this book is also just fun and relatable! A great read aloud to a group or one-on-one.

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4 year old loved this one. I was a little sad when I saw mom and dad shut their bedroom door and Ed couldn't get in. :-( Glad Dad came out at least. Most parents of wee ones will be able to relate to this story. :-)

[Kristin Sprague · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book may have been aimed at a younger audience, I think most elementary age children could learn from this story. All kids struggle with wanting to follow the rules and go to bed at night sometimes. I would likely choose to read this in a younger, primary classroom.