The Prince’s Bedtime by Joanne Oppenheim, Illustrated by Miriam Latimer

Posted May 1, 2014 by Lillian in Children's Corner, Reviews / 0 Comments

Today I wanted to share with you a book my son received through Citrus Lane’s mystery box. Each month they send a box full of goodies to the house. Usually it contains a few toys, a book, and something for the parents to try. This month’s book was a hit with my three year old. He absolutely loved it and so do we! Super cute and fun illustrations, plus a bonus cd with narration by the great Jim Broadbent makes this book an excellent bedtime story.

Book Demographics

The Prince’s Bedtime

Age Range: 4 and up
Grade Level: Preschool and up
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Barefoot Books; Pap/Com edition (September 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1846860962
ISBN-13: 978-1846860966

Book Synopsis

Even with everyone in the kingdom lending a hand, the Prince will still not go to bed! Is there anyone who can help the Prince sleep?

The cook brings biscuits, the maid brings hot milk and the physician brings medicine, but the young Prince will not sleep. So the King and the Queen try an entire troupe of dancers, a mustached musician, a feather down quilt and even a cake! Still, the Prince will not close his eyes. Will the strange woman at the palace gate hold the key to the Prince s slumber?

Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent narrates this delightful tale!

My Review

The Prince’s Bedtime by Joanne Oppenheim and illustrated by Miriam Latimer is a short tale about a prince who refuses to go to sleep. The King and Queen, along with their servants try everything to no avail. Finally fed up, the King sends out a royal message requesting people from around the kingdom to help.This story is true no matter if you have a prince or a regular toddler at home. Bedtime is always the time that my son fights and thinks of any and all excuses to not go to sleep. In fact he is the master staller when it comes to bedtime much like the prince of this story. My son loves this story though. He giggles at the prince’s refusal and finds it quite funny when the King and Queen fall asleep before him (maybe because it reminds him of Mama and Daddy?) However the ending of this story with the strange old woman reading a story with no pictures to get the prince asleep is the deal breaker. Even my son claps for the old woman, leans down gives the prince a kiss, and says “Night-night”. Warms this mama’s heart 🙂

Beautiful illustrations and prose help to keep my son’s attention and calm him down prior to bed. I would recommend this to all parents with little boys who don’t want to sleep 🙂

Author Bio:

Joanne Oppenheim is the award-winning author of more than fifty books. A former primary school teacher, she is currently the president of Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Inc., an organization that reviews children’s products.

Miriam Latimer gained a first class honors degree in 2003 from the University of the West of England. Now a full-time illustrator, she also wrote and illustrated Shrinking Sam for Barefoot Books (2007).

For more information on this book and similar ones, visit www.barefootbooks.com. To purchase this book, click the title below.