Day 32: Just Go to Bed

Back in the fall, I asked friends to suggest some good books for my son, who was nearly three.  I was in a book funk, and needed to find something new.  Several people recommended the Little Critter series by Mercer Mayer, saying they are perfect for preschoolers.  They were so right!  As described on the back of the books, Mayer's Little Critter stories "address all the major issues of growing up," and they are wonderfully fun to read.  I don't know how I had managed to miss these before!  We have since acquired several Little Critter titles, mostly from our library book sales, but this one has to be one of our favorites.  My husband actually got this for our son for Christmas, and I love listening to them read it together.  It's time for bed, but of course Little Critter has too many other important things to do and be:  a cowboy rounding up cows, a space cadet zooming to the moon, a train engineer escaping from bandits... His dad, meanwhile, tries every trick in the book to get Little Critter in his pajamas and off to bed.  I think it's safe to say we've all been there!  My son just laughs and laughs when my husband hugs him and says in his most exasperated Daddy voice, "Just go to bed!!" As with so many of Mayer's books in this series, parents and children, alike, can't help but relate to the story and read it with a smile.  I especially love the expressions the mother Critter has on her face throughout the books, as well.  The illustrations are cute (my son loves finding the mouse in each picture, too), and the stories are creative and entertaining.  There are still many Little Critter titles we have not yet read, but this is definitely a favorite.