Bedtime Rhymes by Tony Ross

Bedtime Rhymes by Tony Ross
Buy Bedtime Rhymes by Tony Ross at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Children's Rhymes
Reviewer: Sam Tyler
Summary: Time for bed and sleepy heads with this collection of bedtime rhymes for the very young.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 10	Date: May 2015
Publisher: Andersen Press
ISBN: 9781783440474
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It is getting late so it's time to start the bedtime routine; upstairs for a wash, clean your teeth and then into your PJs. Settle into bed and what now? A story perhaps, or some night time nursery rhymes. Is it just me or do many of these bedtime tales feel a lot more sinister than their daytime cousins?

Bedtime Rhymes is another board book for the very young by Tony Ross in his series that also covers more conventional nursery rhymes for the day. This book is specifically geared to the type of poem you would read at night and the book includes the likes of Hey, Diddle Diddle, Rock-a-Bye Baby and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. To illustrate each ditty Ross has drawn one of his well-crafted illustrations; how else would we know what a cow looked like as it jumped over the moon?

As a series of books for new-borns through to 3 year olds, the My Favourite Nursery Rhymes Board Books are excellently designed. Bedtime comes with several rhymes that are easy to find using the colourful tab system on the side of the book. If you want to jump straight to Willie Winkie just follow the blue tab and his tell-tale candle. This book is also made of thick cardboard, so you only get 10 pages, but at least it will last a long time should it be dribbled on or thrown across the room a few times.

The main issue with this book is not of the author’s making, but the nature of the nursery rhymes themselves. Bedtime ditties have always been a little too dark for me and the choice is not as varied had you been writing stories for the day. After you have written the real classics, you soon get to some of the less obvious rhymes such as Diddle Diddle Dumpling. Even when you do know the story, it can be a bit sinister – is anyone still happy with the hand that rocked the Rock-a-Bye Baby cradle?

With only ten pages to fill, it seems odd that Ross is having to use filler to get to the end. However, it has to be said that at least the author/illustrator has made each rhyme clear to read and filled each page with a nice picture. It is hard to be overly inspiring when the source material is lacking. However, as a small gift for a new-born that has yet to receive a set of bedtime rhymes, this is as good a start as any.

You can check out more in the Nursery Rhymes Board Books series with the more impressive Playtime Rhymes by Tony Ross or an alternative collection of nursery rhymes in Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Other Nursery Favourites by Mandy Stanley.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Bedtime Rhymes by Tony Ross at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Bedtime Rhymes by Tony Ross at Amazon.com.

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