Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest

Title: Kiss Good Night

Author: Amy Hest

Illustrator: Anita Jeram

Reading Level: Baby - Preschool

Board Book: 30 Pages

Publisher: Candlewick

Babies and toddlers thrive on routines. Especially when it comes to bedtime. Its not an easy feat putting a toddler to bed, especially when he is jumping on his bed, ready for another round of play. But, an established bedtime routine can make little ones look forward to the next activity and help them get to bed with little effort. Routines need not be elaborate, but its important to stick to it every single night. They may not notice if you forget to brush their teeth, but what happens if you forget to kiss goodnight? 

In this beautiful board book, Mrs. Bear is putting Sam to bed. As the wind howled outside on the dark and stormy plum street, Mrs. Bear and Sam are warm and cozy in their bed reading their favorite bedtime story. Later, She tucks Sam in bed along with his animal friends. They have a cup of warm milk, as they listen to the rain making huge splats on their rooftop. Sam should be really ready for bed, but apparently he is not. Mrs. Bear wonders what she forgot and Sam offers no help saying she knows already. Finally, it occurred to her that she is yet to kiss him goodnight. Sam drifts off to sleep after Mrs. Bear smooches him with more night-night kisses. 

The charming illustrations and the heart-warming story makes this such a cute bedtime story book. I guess I started reading this to my daughter when she was about 9 months old. She never grew tired of this book and we have been reading it ever since. She loves everything about this book, including Sam's stuffed animal friends and his little white house. She always has to have her teddy bear while I read it to her and her favorite part is when we rock back and forth saying "Book..Blanket..Friends..Milk.." When I ask her what Mrs. Bear forgot, she smiles at me and gives me a big kiss :) Sometimes, we skip the words altogether and just flip the pages to look at the illustrations. The warm tones and the loving expressions makes you relax and sets the perfect mood for bedtime ^_^

My Rating: 4/5