The challenge of bedtime touches on familiar obstacles and a mother's creative efforts to coax her reluctant toddler to sleep. Animal imagery abounds throughout as the child growls while climbing into bed with a toy bear, and then coils "beneath the quilt, silent as a snake." After an under-the-bed monster check, and a favorite book, the youngster hangs on like a koala to receive a final kiss. Despite all the evening rituals, including a glass of water and one last trip to the bathroom, the child (and a parade of animals) ends up in bed with both parents on the final pages. Realistic illustrations of a Black family contrast with stylized, patterned animals in fanciful hues. (Ages 2-5)

Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year

Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

4 STARRED REVIEWS

Nikki Grimes, Coretta Scott King Award winning author, and acclaimed illustrator Elizabeth Zunon's latest children's masterpiece creates an imagination-fueled and animal-filled journey to bedtime.

"Has the feel of an all-time great bedtime picture book" — The New York Times

It's bedtime. But Mommy's little one is not sleepy.

He growls like a bear, he questions like an owl, he tosses his mane like a lion. He hunts for water like a sly wolf, and hides like a snake.

Mommy needs to wrangle her sweet creature in bed so that the whole family can sleep. From tigers to squirrels to snakes, the little boy dodges around his bedtime, until he is tired enough to finally sleep. His imaginative animal friends weave their way through the illustrations, eventually joining him in curling up for the night.

For those seeking children's books about diversity, this loving depiction of everyday shenanigans is sure to become a bedtime favorite. Bedtime for Sweet Creatures is an African American children's book that celebrates imagination, playful moments, and the love between a Black mother and child.

"The mother's loving understanding is demonstrated by how she works with her child's rich imagination, never slipping into admonishment. As such, children will engage with the pajama-clad tot's antics and be soothed by the book's positive tone. A fabulous interpretation of an everyday battle."—Booklist, STARRED review