Picture Book Review - Time for Bed with Ford and red Takes Kids on Adventure, Journey to Imagination

How can a bedtime tale for little ones be soothing, fun, and exciting all at the same time?  Jacqueline Leigh pulls it off in her beautifully crafted debut picture book, Time for Bed with Ford and Red.  On a personal note, I am always delighted when a fellow North Carolina writer crafts a lovely kid lit tale.

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​About the Book

Title: Time for Bed with Ford and Red | Author Jacqueline Leigh | Illustrator Mackenzie Fink | Publication Date: July 2017 | Publisher: Mascot Publishing | Pages: 32 |
​Recommended Ages: 3-8
 *  Amazon US  *
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​Meet Ford and his stuffed rabbit bedtime companion, Red.  It’s bedtime, and they lie in bed together to dream of adventures paired as a dynamic duo: cowboys riding the prairie; divers exploring under the sea; heroes soaring with eagles; and more.  After each adventure, they return to bed to imagine another next kid-friendly escapade.

​Leigh uses four-line, lyrical rhyming arcs across two pages to describe Ford and Red’s adventures.  She concludes each escapade with catchy concluding wisdom: 
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“What happens next
in the world we dream?

Just close your eyes,
I bet it’s extreme.”
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You just know kids will be reading along about dreams in the extreme!

​Another perfect match:

Mackenzie Fink’s muted illustrations lift the story’s tone of gentle imagination.

​The artist’s soft colors highlight each adventure, yet they return the characters to their bedroom.

Her muted blue-grays, bowns and dark-toned drawings of a starlight sky, where animals the characters encounter shine in their own constellations, are outstanding.

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What Parents Will Like
Prepare to be charmed by the art and sleepy-time action in this sweet read.  Adults might wish to role-play Ford’s exploits with their young readers and even encourage young ones to come up with their own adventures.
 
Perhaps best of all, the plot resets after each quest to Ford and Red, who are always ready for bed.  Yep, the book encourages kids to imagine, fall asleep, and dream, with a perfect bedtime mantra: 

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"So you see,

Lots can happen
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When daytime ends,

As we doze and dream." 

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Recommendation
5 Meows 

I highly recommend Jacqueline Leigh's Time for Bed with Ford and Red for preschool through second-grade.  This charming blend of story, characters, and illustrations is sure to become a bedtime favorite with your young readers.
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Disclosure: I was given an advance review copy of this book and wish to share my honest, unbias reading experience.  Cat Michaels, M.S., Ed.

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