I Don’t Want to Go to Bed!

Tony Ross's I Don't Want to Go to Bed is a very funny bedtime story for 5 year olds about a Little Princess with every excuse going.

What happens

The Little Princess has a question. Why must she go upstairs when she's wide awake, and get up in the morning when she's sleepy? It's a fair point, really.

The Doctor carries her upstairs. She comes straight back down. She wants a glass of water. Then Gilbert wants one too (Gilbert always seems to want whatever she wants). Then there's a monster in the wardrobe. Then there's one under the bed.

Her parents, the King and the Queen, try everything. The Queen's answer to a spider with hairy legs is one of the best lines in the whole book. We won't spoil it!

Any grown-up who has ever done the bedtime shuffle will recognise every trick. Children will love spotting the ones they've tried themselves, and parents will laugh because it's all so true. Who hasn't heard about a very thirsty teddy at half past seven?

There's a lot of shouting in big capital letters. It's a great one to read aloud in your most dramatic voice, and the King's "Sleepy tighty" is very satisfying to say.

Then, when the King creeps in for a goodnight kiss, the bed is empty. Everybody searches high and low. The answer is lovely, and the last page has a little twist that tired parents everywhere will enjoy.

It's short enough for the end of a long day and it rewards reading again and again. It's also very gentle. The monsters and spiders are only ever excuses, so it's unlikely to worry a child who's nervous at bedtime.

What to read next

For more of the Little Princess, try I Want My Dad! This time she decides her dad, the King, is hopeless compared with all the other dads. He burns the cakes. He sneezes near animals. He even gets lost on his way to bed.