Ian Whybrow

As a sleepy boy decides it is bedtime and sets out across the farm toward home, he meets several animals who, in their noisy way, express the same idea.

The Noisy Way to Bed

Sarah Sammis

Remember Harriet's flair for bizarre humor? Now that she can read, she's found that she can pick out books that fit her sense of humor. A recent pick of hers was The Noisy Way to Bed by Ian Whybrow which she delighted in reading to me.

A young boy living on a farm decides it is time for bed and heads back to the farmhouse. Along the way he meets up with a number of farm animals who in their own "noisy way" make it known that they want to go to bed too.

So a long line of animals follow the boy home, a pig, a sheep, a horse and so forth. Each animal makes its own sound, something that is fun for children to mimic. As I was the one being read too, Harriet left the animal noises to me. Moo. Oink. Baa!

The watercolor illustrations are a nice mixture of realism and cartoon sketch, giving enough wiggle room to make the whole barn yard bedtime scene seem plausible. Parents and children can use this book to talk about how and where animals sleep.

Fans of the Woods' The Napping House will enjoy The Noisy Way to Bed.