How to Put a Dinosaur to Bed: A Board Book, by Alycia Pace

 Publication April 2, 2024

I grinned as I read this. Partly because it was cute, partly because it seemed as much a beacon for parents struggling to get their children to bed at a normal time as a cute story. The book is quite short and no adults appear but, well, the siblings in this story are playing parent/caretaker to a dinosaur. Yes, you read that right. A fun dinosaur. But, they're finding it tiring as it doesn't want to sleep when they're trying to sleep. Sound familiar to any parents out there? Grin. You'll get a chuckle out of the use of the dino's horn in a puppet show, sure, or how the clever siblings have a ladder handy to assist in efficiently giving it a bath, but the purpose of this book is really to remind those in charge of the necessity of routine, routine, routine.

As for the children, looking at a troublesome, not-at-all-sleepy charge from the vantage of being the ones in charge of not just it getting rest but them, too, might provide some welcome understanding of the importance of sleep. The basic steps are listed as part of the action (ie in a sibling's hand) as well as then illustrated step-by-step. Nothing surprising, of course, as we know setting a routine and keeping to it is important, but it also shows the need to be able to handle those hopefully occasional "but I don't want to go to bed" nights. All in all, a cute story that offers help, with well done illustrations. I mean, the dinosaur with its rubber ducky is just too cute. Thanks #NetGalley and #Familius for sharing this with me. I know the importance of keeping to a routine, so this is a nice reminder.