Go to Bed!

by Virginia Miller

A little bear resists going to bed as long as he can

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 1993

About the author

Virginia Miller wrote and illustrated her first George and Bartholomew story after observing a toddler's frustration with potty training. The result was ON YOUR POTTY!, followed by more George and Ba books acclaimed for their simple, authentic dialogue, expressive illustrations, and toddler-friendly themes.


"The next most likely problem needing book treatment," Virginia says, "seemed to be eating -- or not eating -- one's dinner." The winsome EAT YOUR DINNER dramatizes this all-too familiar conflict at the dinner table; in its review of EAT YOUR DINNER, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL declared, "Everything about this book will appeal to toddlers."


"These books," Virginia says, "are intended to help make light of common parent-child conflicts because if they make you smile, things don't seem so bad." She hopes that every parent and child will recognize the benefits and trials of unconditional love that George the father bear and Bartholomew the child bear share. "When the going gets tough for Bartholomew, it's comforting to him to know that George is always there for him--and will love him through all his moods."


Formerly a resident of Wiltshire, England, Virginia now lives in New Zealand.

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kid loves this book and we all know bedtime looks like this but he’s picking up on the character’s “nah” even when he’s trying to be funny - super annoying.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book more than any other children's early reader because of the way that the main character displays his attitude. The young bear is persuaded by his father to go to bed and his only response is the word "nah". The father bear tries to tire out the young one and shows the story's lesson in doing so. This story's moral is that the parents are always right and will love and care for the child no matter the attitude.

The story is very engaging to a young reader because the pages have a maximum of five or six words per page and a huge illustration of the same bed with different things happening around and on top of it on most pages. The colors are all light and happy until the end when it becomes somber and it is time for the reader to go to bed. This serves as an excellent bedtime story to read to a young one and one they can read on their own.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bartholomew doesn't know how close he is to being the victim of some serious ursine infanticide at George's hands here. (And given the titles of the other books in this series, I'm beginning to think George shouldn't have had any cubs.)

[Terry]

A good book for helping children to accept bedtime more gracefully. We have a review at the Reading Tub.

[Huda Fel · Rating 3 out of 5]

How stubborn kids might be :P

[LoriAnn Kocialski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great one too! Read all by this author!

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the Bartholomew and George stories.
I liked the amount of "Nah" in this one.
I love the patience of George, who I am assuming is Ba's father.
It was a cute book for young beginning readers.