An Accelerated Reader book
Gold Mom's Choice Award in the category of bedtime stories
"[When] Sam is convinced that all the best things happen after he goes to bed . . . he hatches a plan to sneak downstairs and discover the fun for himself. . . . Ebbeler's acrylic paintings feature a likable round-faced boy and a stuffed panda accomplice whose facial expressions look convincingly real." —School Library Journal
"This read-aloud picture book explores universal curiosity about what really goes on in a child's house at night, in rhyme and with humor. It will strike a chord with kids and parents alike." —Children's Literature
"A little boy . . . and his toy panda slowly, carefully slip down the stairs, getting caught once when a stair squeaks, then finally peep around a corner to see his mother and dad doing . . . nothing at all!" —The Courier-Journal
"Sunshine's rhyming style makes the story much more fun to read aloud. Ebbeler's illustrations turn imagination into visual reality with vibrant colors and detail." —Sacramento Book Review
"An entertaining, clever, and well-written story of a boy’s curiosity about what goes on after he is put to bed." —Here We Are With Luci.com
"This romping, rhyming adventure will prove once and for all that kids aren't missing out on anything special after bedtime. Or are they?" —loricalabrese.blogspot.com
"Deals with a problem that is often at its worst on Christmas Eve: the reluctance of young children to go to bed. . . . One night Sam and his sidekick, Petey Bear, sneak downstairs to spy on the ruckus. What they find is a revelation." —The Advocate, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
"[My son] really saw himself in the story and felt some camaraderie with this imaginary character." —Good Reads with Ronna
"The real hit of the book is Sam's imagination revealed in all its magic on each page." —MyShelf.com
Even before Dad tucks him in, Samuel McKay has devised a plan to find out what really goes on in his house after bedtime—he waits until Dad has shut the light before tiptoeing out of his room with his trusted furry accomplice, Petey Bear, determined to find the truth. Sam imagines fish swimming in the bathroom pipes, a thousand toy trains in the basement, a zoo in the guest room, and a rocket in Dad's parking place. Each wildly imagined activity is highlighted on the wall by Pete's flashlight beam as the daring pair quietly and carefully creep through the house. They persist, finally reaching the den and the moment of truth. Sam's parents, of course, are simply relaxing; Dad does the crossword, and Mom is reading. Disappointed, Sam and Petey trudge back up to bed. This romping, rhyming adventure will prove once and for all that kids aren't missing out on anything special after bedtime. Or are they? In the final wordless image, Mom and Dad are eating pink ice cream and cake at a private little party, perhaps celebrating that they've won the bedtime battle—at least until tomorrow night.
Lori Sunshine is a television writer and producer who won two National Writers Guild Awards and a local Emmy while at NBC. She lives in New York City. Jeffrey Ebbeler is the illustrator of Bake You a Pie, Punxsutawney Phyllis, and The Runaway Garden. He lives in Chicago.
View interior graphics from this book.
Sample 1 (48K)
Sample 2 (47K)
Childrens: Picture Books
Age Range: 5 to 8
32 pages, Cloth, 10 x 10
32 Color Illustrations, Four-color Interior
Distribution Rights: WOR
$16.95 (CAN $16.95)
9780979974618 (0979974615) Pub Date: November 2008
Flashlight Press