Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?

by Wade Bradford, Johnanna van der Sterre

Since ancient times, one question has endured in the hearts and minds of children: Why do I have to make my bed if it's just going to get messed up again? Now, Wade Bradford takes readers on a trip through time for a humorous look at how bed-making has evolved throughout history.  Using examples of household tasks that might have been performed in colonial America, in ancient Egypt, by Vikings, and so on, this clever examination of chore lore eventually reveals the answer to this age-old question. (Hint: Mothers throughout history have always had a ready response.) This book makes history so much fun, kids won't even realize they're learning.

Genres: Picture Books, History, Humor, Family, Childrens, Historical

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 22, 2011

Reviews

[Joella]

The answer is "Because I said so." And that is the only reason why (or needed) for kids to make their beds since 40,000 B.C. Um...yeah.

[Nielson]

Very funny. It is a question kids have been asking for centuries and one they are still asking today..."Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?" Covering different eras of time, the author takes us through Colonial times, Ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, the Fabulous Fifties and so on, each time with the bed question. The text is clever and true to the specific time period. The best part is when the age-old question is finally answered at the end...mothers are sure to love the answer! Included at the end is a time line of chores kids have been participating in through the eras. Fascinating and fun...kids will love learning this part of history!

[Tanya Wadley]

Not everyone likes the answer at the end ("because I said so"). But they missed what was really important in this story. It's really a history of the work that children have helped with through the ages, and certainly the historical part at the end is very interesting. My kids were fascinated by the long jumps backward in time.

We didn't talk very much about it... but it's also an opportunity to say that children of past times had a lot more responsibility than children living today... and that the work children do is important... not really because "I said so"... but because your are part of this family and need to do your part and because I said so.

[Amy]

A great picture book about chores in other times and cultures.

[Shannon]

The repetition in this story got really old, really fast. The only part I found enjoyable were the tidbits of history at the end about children in the different time periods.

[Sarah]

Since prehistoric times, children have been fighting with their parents about making their beds.
Does the answer satisfy the age-old question? Maybe not. But I don't know if there's a better reason out there!

[Jennybeast]

Oh, this book is clever -- for history, for chores, for starting to understand ancestors -- very, very clever.

[Shiloah]

Meh

[Pinky]

A little boy wants to know why he has to make his bed and his mother spins him a tale of the past and he makes his bed.

[Maren]

World history, family history, and humor all wrapped up together in one story. My older kids overheard as I was reading it to my youngest, and they thought it was funny, too.

[Breezie Hutcheson]

This was cute but meh for me

[Wallace Johnson]

Genre: I placed this title in my reading log under Children’s Concept Picture Books.

Summary: A young boy questions the reasoning behind making his bed. He is taken through a historical journey by his mother that is filled with his ancestors. He learns the reason why they all had to make their own bed’s as they were growing up.

Critique:

(a.) The author was able to keep my attention as an adult reader by going through history and placing the dates on the respective pages. I think this too would help a young reader gain enjoyment out of this title.

(b.) The story starts in present time and slowly starts drifting back into the past. As we see on page 4, mom is telling the story from her perspective during 1953. We know this because the author included that date on the bottom of the page. Then we can see on page 7, this part of the story is taking place during the year of 1801.

(c.) It is vital to have these dates placed on the pages, otherwise young readers might not be able to understand where and when in history the story teller is at. Look on page 11. Here we see a young lady picking rates out of pickle barrel that was part of the cargo of the ship they were sailing on. By taking the date and scene of the story, young readers can determine that this was during the time that America was discovered. Maybe this young lady was on the Mayflower on her way to the new land.

Curriculum Connection: A wonderful book filled with vibrant illustrations and historical value. This would definitely be a title to share with young readers, both silently and aloud.

[Candice]

Children old enough to have some chores to do around the house will enjoy this the most. A modern-day boy asks why he has to make his bed since he has already put the dishes in the dishwasher, dusted off his video games and picked up his dinosaurs, racetrack and action figures. The age-old "It's just going to get messed up again" also figures in the boy's argument. But that just reminds his mother of a story about the boy's grandmother when she was a little girl. It seems that she has washed and dried the dishes, dusted her rock 'n' roll records, and picked up her slinky, Hula hoops and roller skates, so she doesn't see why she needs to make her bed. And so the story goes. Each question about bed-making leads the mother to think of a story of an ancestor who did his or her chores but didn't see why he or she had to make the bed. A really cute story showing how chores have changed over the centuries. The illustrations are colorful and amusing and they include dates, so we see what grandmother's room looked like in 1953, then her grandfather's room in 1911, and so on... The cave mother finally answers the bed-making question with an answer that has come down through the ages. At the end of the book is a "Chores through the Ages" page that tells what children were expected to do in times past. A humorous look at chores.

[Chris]

Bradford, Wade - Why Do I Have to Make My Bed or A History of Messy Rooms - illustrations by Johanna van der Sterre - Tricycle Press, 2011.
**In this story about a little boy that doesn’t want to make his bed, mothers through the ages continue going successively further back in time until the cave mama said, “Because I said so.” With that, the book travels quickly forward in time revisiting all of the children as they make their beds from their respective bedding materials. This story shows children that although the chores may change from time period to time period, children still had chores. And they still had to listen to their mothers. The end of the book has a list of “Chores through the ages,” which discusses all of the chores that children may have had to do during the time periods listed in the book. Each illustration charmingly shows a child in his/her respective time with many of the things that one would find in their home environment.

[Shelli]

Fun and educational, my favorite combination for children's books. I myself have wondered "Why bother making my bed if I'm only going to mess it up again?" What person hasn't thought this from time to time? After reading this your children may not feel any better about having to do this chore but they can know without a doubt that through out time all children had to do this same task. Even though the type of beds and variety of other chores may have changed throughout history, the reason they children are given is always the same. "Because I said so," has been uttered by every mother at least once in their life.

[Melanie Hetrick]

A boy asks his mother why he still has to make his bed when he's done several other chores around the house. The mother replies with a story about a recent ancestor who asked the same question under the same circumstances. In the following pages, mothers go further and further back into history, telling the stories of distant ancestors who all asked the same question. Readers finally end up in caveman times. The "original" mother's answer? "Because I told you so."

Includes historical info on each of the time periods presented and what a young persons role would be at the time.

[Jyh-haw Teng]

This book just describe one thing I think everyone has met before, Make one's bed. we always ask the same question to our parents. why do I have to make my bed? It'll get messy again anyway. And Our parents start to pretend they're angry then repeat the sentence again. "go make your bed" Then we go back and make our bed. This happened several times in my life and everything is the same. Till the end the author still not tell us why do we have to make our bed. I have a feeling that the author wants to do a Metaphor. But I don't know what exactly what it is.

[Kim Patton]

This book tells the story of the ever-present question, "why do I have to make my bed?" The main character mother answers that question with stories of how many generations before have asked that question, giving a little historical perspective for each. "I already gave water to the pyramid builders. I dusted off Father's papyrus scrolls....So why do I have to make my bed?"

[Thomas]

I think the book is fit for some children, who do not want to make their beds, can read it from cover to cover. It is very interesting that it has taught to every child who do not like to make bed by themself. I really recommand every parent can read it before you want to show what is your discipline to your own kids.

[Amy]

I thought this was going to finally share the real reason for making your bed, but the answer is just that the moms have always said "Because I said so." That was lame. It does talk about the different chores that kids have done through the ages - but only in surface/stereotypical way so only "news" to young kids.

[The Reading Countess]

Repetition, humor, voice and history tie this unique story about family together. Readers will enjoy the predictability as well as the appendix at the end of the book detailing chores throughout the ages.

[Carson Marie]

A wonderful stating off nonfiction book for children. Its creativity of how throughout the ages back to caveman times that all children had to make their beds brings a common fact that children can relate too. While learning about each major time period from the past.

[Joseph]

Enjoy going through time where kids are always asking why they have to make their bed? Fun illustrations and use of different grammar with the different cultures or centuries. The ending was a little dry.

[Letitia]

Really cute, really clever premise (and my niece DID start making her bed after this) but this is a great illustration of the unthinking lack of diversity in children's books. Would have been a great story to introduce people of color and mixed families, but all the characters are white.

[Theresa Grissom]

Love this book. I read this aloud to the 2nd graders in my library. They love it and so do the teachers. A good look at the history of chores, beds and even some of the language used during each time period. Fun way to see changes over history.

[Edward Sullivan]

Messy rooms through the centuries.

[Megan]

The phrase that has been used since the beginning of time: "Because I told you so."

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)]

Interesting concept and was curious to see how the book would be resolved but a little bit disappointed with the conclusion.

[Lori]

Bradford is a colleague of mine at Moorpark College. A clever premise, with a bouncy rhythmic prose, yet a cliched conclusion. Clever and humorous illustrations.

[Stefani]

As it says, this is a history of messy rooms. Children from present ask their mothers why they have to make their bed. No great resolution, but funny.