The Going to Bed Book and Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton

Friday night is swimming lesson night for both kids. Because what I really feel like doing after a long day at work, is picking the kids up and then turning back, driving back to the school I work at, and sitting at the school's swimming pool for 1.5 hours watching first A, then C swim. Ah well, at least it's the weekend afterwards.

Anyway, tonight they ended up in bed even later than usual, and were both somewhat put out when the chapter of Mr Gum was relatively short, and so I offered the usual placater, Sandra Boynton's The Going to Bed Book and Moo, Baa, La, La, La.

I know both of these books off by heart now, and sometimes just saying the words is acceptable, but tonight I had to find the actual books, because they wanted to look at the pictures (which are gorgeous cartoon animals). The Going to Bed Book concerns the bedtime routine of the animals on Noah's ark (although no reference is actually made to Noah, or indeed to any human being). One thing I have never understood is that the animals exercise after having had their bath. This is probably because it fits better with the rhyme scheme, but I find it irritating that they sweat, when they have just got clean.

Moo, Baa, La, La, La is completely insane, which is why I love it. The final line "It's quiet now, what do you say", has, over the years, generated some interesting responses.

Boynton has written lots of other books, which I would imagine are also wonderful. They are board books, and suitable pretty much from babyhood, but they are still deeply loved in this household.