The Going-To-Bed Book

The moon is high. The sea is deep.
They rock
and rock
and rock
to sleep.

It closes with the animals settling down for the night: "They rock and rock and rock to sleep." Graced by Boynton's well-known illustrations and rhythmic, lullabye-like poetry, this is a great book for infants and toddlers alike. It's one of those books you'll keep long after the kid(s) grow up.


A lovely MEMORY maker!   September 6, 2000
107 out of 109 found this review helpful

Tonight while surfing through amazon I stumbled upon Sandra Boynton. Remembering how fond my children were of her board books when they were toddlers, I read a few of the reviews. I laughed and cried thinking about how frequently "The Going To Bed Book" was read in our household and how IMPORTANT it became in our bedtime ritual. Out of curiosity I pulled the old book from our library shelves and went to my kids, now 15, 12 and 9 and began to recite a few lines. *NOTE - I didn't actually NEED the book in order to do this. To my delight each of them perked up, smiled and began to chant the lines right along with me. They remembered the characters, the words, the way we used to read the story. You see, for them the memories of this book are wonderful as well!

Sandra Boynton is gifted at coupling wonderful, readable verse with delightful illustration. Don't miss this book and don't hesitiate to purchase others from her collection. We have HUNDREDS of read aloud childrens books in this house. This ranks right up there with the absolute favorites and should be IMHO amongst the first books read to a cherished babe.

P.S. Don't miss "Doggies" either! If you read this one with FEELING they'll be begging for it time and again!


Excellent   December 6, 1999
Ms. Upnorth (Fairbanks, Alaska)
58 out of 59 found this review helpful

After reading all of the positive reviews here, I decided to order this book for my two year old son, who loves to read. I must admit, I probably would never have picked it out, but my son absolutely loves it! Everytime we finish reading it, he says, "Mommy, read again." I recommend it to anyone who has a little reader at home.


This is a bedtime MUST!   August 24, 1998
28 out of 29 found this review helpful

My 17 month old daughter Diana absolutely adores this book, as does her 31 year old mother! It has a remarkably calming effect on her when she's all wound up at the end of the day, and fighting sleep as children her age are wont to do. The wonderful rhythm of the words is soothing, and easy for her to understand. She has begun "reading" along with me, and it's delightful to actually witness her learning. Thank you, Sandra Boynton, for putting your remarkable talent towards such a wonderful thing as children's books!!!


Bedtime with Boynton!   October 15, 2004
Elizebeth Neumann (Seattle, wa)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

I only had one other Boynton book "Snuggle Puppy" which my daughter loves so I wanted to get her another Boynton book. "The Going to Bed" book is a hit!

This book is about several different animals in different shapes and sizes getting ready for bed on a boat. They brush their teeth, excersize and put on pajamas.

The illustrations are cute and her rythmic poetry is perfectly easy to read.

My daughter absolutely loves the pictures and she must like the sound of the words because she gets so excited by this book.

I personally like this book for reading at bedtime because of its length. Its short, sweet and to the point. And the very last page of the book "They rock and rock and rock to sleep" is perfect when read slowly to emphasize the end of the day.

Her books are precious and very inexpensive. This is not a book you will be donating or selling at a garage sale. Your baby/child will love it!