Coming up with a bedtime routine that works smoothly is certainly not a new theme in children's literature, nor a new challenge in real life. Most parents are quite familiar with the problem, and most have searched for book after book to soothe their restless sleepers. Happily, here is one more bedtime book that is well worth reading.

THE PRINCE WON'T GO TO BED is a wonderfully artistic, funny, poetic bedtime book that presents a lighthearted look at a bedtime ritual gone wrong. Kids will love its rhyming, rhythmic language, the pacing, and the playful repetition of phrases as one scenario after another fails to calm the Prince and the "Waa! Waa! Waa's" begin anew.

Dayle Ann Dodd has the timing of a stand-up comedian and Kyrsten Brooker accents it all with her masterful artwork. Together, parent and child can have fun chanting the repeating parts while searching the vibrant collages that fill the pages. Kids, especially those who resist going to bed at night, will enjoy this story, and parents will love reading it aloud, over and over again as they put their own reluctant sleeper to bed.