Molly's Reviews

Just Go To BedJust Go To Bed
Mercer Mayer
Random House Books for Young Readers

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child pleasing read … Highly recommended … 5 stars

Little Critter and mouse return.

Little Critter is a cowboy who can lasso anything. Dad says "It's time for the cowboy to come inside and get ready for bed." Indoors; Little Critter, without his cowboy hat, boots, vest neckerchief and guns, sports a paper 'admiral's hat.' On the floor, his soldiers, tanks and mouse with a cannon look forward to their orders. "It's time for the general to take a bath."

An irritable Little Critter clothed in his 'jammies', toting his Bunny and none too anxious for bed is heading for the stairs on the cover of this Mercer Mayer work. Mouse is found sitting on the bottom tread. Just inside the cover on the title page we find another view, Little Critter is just as grumpy, however, the jammies are dragging on the floor behind Little Critter, stalwart mouse tramps at the side of buddy.

And so it goes, with his rocket in hand, Little Critter is a space cadet. Dad appears, and he carries the little space cadet to the bathroom where mouse is diving into a bubble filled tub. Before long; Little Critter is a sea monster doing violence to his bathtub ship. A slightly damp mouse is clinging to the ship when Dad appears holding LC's bath robe.

Snacktime finds Little Critter in the kitchen, peanut butter sandwich in one hand, chocolate chip cookie in the other. Mouse enjoys his cookie, surrounded by a horde of 'zoo animals' needing to be fed.

"Feeding time is over. Here are the zookeeper's pajamas."

Super Critter flies over the town, the train engineer is pursued by bandits. Once again Little Critter's patient dad reappears, little pajamas in hand, and a neckerchief masking his face.

"The bandit chief has caught you so put on your pajamas."

And, in a flash, a race car driver just speeds away.

A stern faced dad holds those pajamas, LC looks as though he may at last be bound for bed.

"I'm a bunny hopping around my garden."

Dad says, "Just Go To Bed!"

Protesting to the end, LC, quilt pulled up to his chin protests, "But I'm a bunny and bunnies don't sleep in a bed."

And the last page shows where a tired Little Critter bunny sleeps with his mouse buddy snoozing on his tummy.

I will admit, I read the Little Critter books a lot when my own children were little boys and again in my K - 1 classrooms in California. Because I love them as much as those children, I kept the books when I left teaching, perhaps forever, when husband and I moved away from California over a decade ago.

It wasn't long before I realized, 'you can take the teacher out of the class, but you cannot take the class out of the teacher,' or something like that. Every fall as the new school term rolled around the same old tug began. How hard, I wondered, will it be to turn a California Life Credential into one that will allow me to teach in Oklahoma… very hard I was told. So, filled with some trepidation I checked out the Oklahoma School site, downloaded the application and sent off my money order, found a position, and began teaching.

"You will hate it." I was told. "Kids today are a lot different."

I wondered whether to take Mercer Mayer with me to my classroom. These young, worldly wise, computer game playing kids may want something with a lot more jazz.

Yeah, right.

Little Critter, his family, Mouse et al are preferred as often as ever they were for 'free time reading,' for 'I'm the leader and I want this book read today,' and for anytime we have a little free time and choice is given as what to do.

"Read Little Critter to us." Is heard often and L O U D, in Mrs. Martin's first grade class.

The first graders in my class all giggle, talk about younger siblings or cousins doing precisely as does Little Critter when trying to prolong bed time. And, with sidelong glances they divulge that they too make use of countless of the maneuverings as well.

Mercer Mayer is a writer/illustrator who truly recognizes the psyche of young children. He presents child pleasing images adding to a most child pleasing read. Together that was an unconquerable combination twenty years ago, and it remains so today.

Permanent favorite "Just Go To Bed" is a must have for the pleasure reading shelf of little folks ages 2 – 6 and 7. Older kids may well sneak a peek when they think the grown ups are not watching. My former 4th graders, now 5th grade grown ups take pleasure in reading Mercer Mayer to 'the little kids.'

Happy to recommend "Just Go To Bed" for the classroom library, school, home school and public library catalogs.

When I Grow UpWhen I Grow Up
Mercer Mayer
Random House

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„When I Grow Up“ tells of a predicament that often faces Little People; because Little

Critter's little sister is weary with being too little; she daydreams about all the extraordinary things she is going to do when she grows up. She envisions becoming a graceful and grand ballet dancer, or a courageous high wire walker, or a speedy race car driver, or a truck driver, or a world-famous doctor, or …

I teach six year olds who do not always have well developed speaking skills notwithstanding the fact that English is our native language. Children frequently have a good bit of trouble trying to relate ideas, plans or thoughts.

The illustrations offered by Mercer Mayer on the pages of „When I Grow Up“ are so well done, child pleasing and full of lots of clues relating to the words on the pages that my students are provided impetus for their discussion. I find that my students are often well able to put into words more of what they want to say as I turn the page and they view the illustration. As time goes on during the school term the kids are able to go on to more verbalization without need for relying upon the pictures.

Little Critter's sister communicates her numerous and varied plans to the reader for what she will do WHEN she grows up. I use „When I Grow Up“ as a discussion starter in my First Grade class room as we talk about different types of jobs available for grown ups. In an area where almost everyone is involved in the –oil fields, or fast food- it is handy to have a child pleasing book to use to help children develop the perception that there are many achievable occupations open in life including, but not limited to, –oil fields, or fast food- .Little sister envisages herself engaged in any number of interesting and miscellaneouscareer choices when she gets older.

With a bare minimum of text on each page; Little People who are beginning to make sense of the squiggles we adults call words on each page often feel very self-assured to take the book to read to a cuddly buddy in one of the DEAR offices. I have found First Graders, whether those I knew 20 years ago or those today, all love Little Critter, and his family. First Graders today continue to enjoy Little Critter, sister and all of the works created by Mercer Mayer.

I teach in an area where books may not be readily available in all homes. I begin reading Little Critter/Mercer Mayer the first day of school and read the books all through the term. My students often bring one or another of the Mercer Mayer books from the book basket right to the last day of school.

„When I Grow Up“ is a work my -grown up- First Graders never fail to identify with. Most of my students have little brothers and sisters, plus they themselves generally are also little brothers and sisters. Osage County First Grade well recognizes the quandary facing Little Critter and little sister.

Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter books in general, and „When I Grow Up“ in particular, are magnificent works filled with marvelous illustrations and child pleasing developments. While the books are for the most part slanted toward the pre school set, not every preschooler comes from homes where books and reading are practiced. TV games and raunch are often more recognized than are various children’s authors, or the books they have written. I like to fill in that gap when possible.

Art work illustrating each of Mercer Mayer works are filled with detailed features and are gently presented. In the works are found tiny critters that recur from page to page –a cricket, a frog, a grasshopper, a mouse, a spider; each of them is incorporated into the visual tale. „When I Grow Up“ has its own set of tinies, the kids and I look for them from drawing to drawing, and page to page.

„When I Grow Up“ is, as are all Mercer Mayer works, all about reiteration. As Little Critter keeps doing the same kind of thing over and over in many of the books, Little Sister is doing the same thing over and over this time. Words are repeated over and over. Adults often become weary with all the repetition, however, little readers flourish with repetition and learn through repetition.

Osage County First Grade listens to the stories, choose „When I Grow Up“ for DEAR reading time and use the illustrations as starting points for their own drawings. „When I Grow Up“ is an exceptional work filled with child friendly graphics, duplication, and text children CAN read.

„When I Grow Up“ is a book we use for social studies discussion regarding occupations and possible job choices beyond the most common or what is right in front of our nose. Happy to recommend.

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© 2008 by Molly Martin