Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld

Set against a cityscape backdrop, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site tells the story of five tough trucks working on a big construction site. It is the end of a hard day's work and the reader gets to learn a little bit about each truck and the work they do before saying goodnight to each of them.

The story is told in delightful rhyming text. There are lots of action words used, which provides wonderful opportunity to engage little ones - Maximilian loves to "reach and stretch and lift" like Crane Truck and, of course, the repetitive Shh...goodnight is nice to say together with "shushing". The language used also makes this a great read aloud book, as it's fun to crrrunch the gravel along with Dump Truck and rooaaar along with Bulldozer.  Like all good bedtime stories, there are also lots of opportunities throughout the story for parent and child to enjoy some good cuddles!

Lichtenheld's illustrations are just magnificent and really are works of art. The trucks and diggers manage to be both cartoonish and realistic, and their faces are filled with such personality. There is also incredible detail in every picture, and I've been amazed by how many things Maximilian sees in the pictures that I've missed - there is one page with a little owl that he spots every time! As he gets older and his vocabulary grows, I'm sure he'll notice and articulate even more of the details in the pictures.

The bedtime detail in the pictures is also really charming - Crane Truck has a teddy bear and night light while Cement Mixer has a little blankie. The night sky with the lovely sleepy moon illustration is featured on each goodnight page and the twilight blue is really striking and unusual and very engaging - as are the illustrations of the trucks and diggers.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site is a wonderful book that will always hold a special place in our hearts, because this is the book that taught Maximilian about bedtime!

We chose very gentle bedtime techniques with our babies. As a small baby, we always cuddled Maximilian to sleep before putting him in his cradle or cot. As he grew bigger, we would cuddle him on our bed before transferring him to his own cot once he was fast asleep. But, as I got bigger and bigger when I was pregnant with Walther and as Walther's arrival grew closer and closer, it became impossible - I simply couldn't bend over his cot to lift his 12kg sleeping body in any more!! It was time to help Maximilian learn to go to sleep in his own bed. 

We tried lots of different things - putting him in his bed awake and sitting nearby singing songs or reading books, patting him off to sleep, etc. We had moderate success and things were going quite well. Then, one night when Walther was only a few weeks old, Daddy had to be out at night and Mummy needed to do bedtime by herself. I knew I didn't have very long before Walther would need feeding, so it had to be a pretty quick bedtime routine. I cuddled Maximilian up in my feeding chair and read him Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. As we said Shh...goodnight to each of the trucks in the book, Maximilian grew sleepier and sleepier. When we had finished the book, I carried him over to Walther's cot and he said Shh...goodnight to bubby, then Shh...goodnight to our parrots, then Shh...goodnight to ape (his favourite cuddly toy) etc. When I put him in his bed, I simply said Shh...goodnight Maximilian, tucked him in and left the room - and he went straight to sleep and didn't wake again until morning. It was magical! And it was the same night after night - the bedtime ritual and routine that this book gave us worked like a dream and we haven't looked back since.

Maximilian received Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site as a gift for his first Christmas. We fell in love with the beautiful artwork and delightful rhyming text immediately and tried reading it to him when he was a few months old. It is quite a long story though and didn't immediately catch his interest. We tried again a few months later and made it through a few of the trucks in the book, but it wasn't until he was around 14 months old that he started to really enjoy this book and sit through the whole story. Once this happened though, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site was a firm favourite and the only book he wanted to read for several weeks!!

I really can't recommend this book highly enough. Great for any little person interested in trucks, diggers and construction equipment. This is a wonderful book to give as a gift - we have the hardcover edition. The story is most suitable for ages 2 and up, and there is also plenty to engage older readers.

This is our best bedtime story ever!

What is your favourite bedtime story to read with your children? I'd love to hear about it!

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

Once there was a boy and one day he found a penguin at his door...

So begins Lost and Found: the story of an unlikely friendship between a young boy and a penguin. When the penguin turns up, the young boy assumes he is lost and tries to help the penguin find his home - with surprising and heart warming results.

Lost and Found is quite long for a picture book - I remember when Maximilian first chose it for us to read (when he was around 13 months of age) that I was surprised that he sat through the whole book. The story is told in narrative format with no rhyming text. A young child with a short attention span might not make it through the whole story initially, but there is lots of detail in the illustrations to help sustain their interest.

On the flip side, Lost and Found is definitely a picture book with lasting value - even primary school readers would find much of interest in the illustrations and parents could have some fascinating discussion with their older child about the story elements. It would also be a nice addition to a beginner readers collection - so often early reader books don't really have much of a story so Lost and Found would be a nice story to help children who are learning to read independently.

Maximilian was lucky enough to receive this gorgeous book as a gift from a dear friend. Lost and Found was the first Oliver Jeffers' book to make it into our picture book collection (although I do have a copy of The Heart and the Bottle that is in my own book collection that I bought some years ago - an amazing book about grief. Right up there with A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.)

As I said in my post about Stuck, I love everything Oliver Jeffers creates and he is one of my favourite children's authors. He manages to create stories that are funny, interesting and completely engaging as well as books that are absolutely delightful and beautiful to look at. Jeffers is an amazingly talented artist - most of the artwork in his picture books could easily be framed and hung on the wall, and the illustrations in Lost and Found really are unique and beautiful. Jeffers' website has prints of images from his books for sale - I'm coveting this one of the cover of Lost and Found amongst others!

We have the board book edition of Lost and Found, but it is available in paperback as well. If you are buying this book as a gift, I'd definitely recommend the board book for any child aged 3 and under - it will be much more hard-wearing for those little hands that won't be able to resist turning pages and examining the illustrations. For an older child, the paperback version is a great choice as the illustrations look even better bigger!!

Lost and Found has won multiple awards and has also been made into an award winning short film, which I can't wait to watch! 

I highly recommend this book as an addition to any picture book collection, and it is a real keeper - so perfect as a gift for any child. Best suited for children aged 2 and up.

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

This is a terrific book by veteran children's author Mem Fox with colourful, cute, quirky illustrations by Judy Horacek.

The simple, repetitive text makes this a great read aloud book to be enjoyed by children of all ages. The short story makes this book a good choice for sharing with very young children - Maximilian has been enjoying this book since around six months age and now, at 19 months, enjoys it just as much, as does my 3 year old nephew.

It would also be a great book for learning to read. When looking into it, I was fascinated to discover that this book has 190 words - 188 have one syllable, 1 word has two syllables and 1 word has 3 syllables - perfect for teaching words and reading skills to young children. This simplicity can be the secret of success in a picture book and certainly is in this case.


The illustrations are just fabulous and reward multiple reads, which is always a joy since reading the same book hundreds of times on request can get tiresome :-) We've been reading this book for more than a year now and it is still a rewarding pleasure to read each time. We still find new things to talk about and the book continues to teach Maximilian new words and concepts - for example, he loves to say "Wheeee!" for the slide sheep! I also love that he now knows what's coming, so when we get to "Turn the page quietly, let's take a peep", Maximilian already puts his finger to his lips and says "Shhh".

We have the small board book version but it is also available as a traditional sized soft page or board book (and the fabulous illustrations would reward the larger format).


Mem Fox has written an amazing number of children's books, including classics like Possum Magic and Koala Lou, won multiple book awards and is also a passionate advocate of reading to children - her book Reading Magic has wonderful tips on how and why to read aloud and how to choose books. Also check out her website for heaps of great information, including the fascinating and hilarious story of writing Where is the Green Sheep? !

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

This wonderful classic story is probably my all time favourite picture book. 

This is the tale of mischievous little boy Max and his trip to where the wild things are. After getting into all kinds of mischief, Max is sent to bed without his supper, and then things really take off! The illustrations, including the iconic cover image, are just fabulous; the story is told in simple language that resonates so well with children; it has adventure, danger, wonder, and a happy ending; and I've always found Max to be a character that kids really relate to.

Everything about the illustrations in this book amaze me - the incredible detail, the simple and effective use of colour, and the amazing imagination in the illustrations of the wild things - I just love Love LOVE them! Maurice Sendak really was a genius.

Maximilian and I have only recently started enjoying this book together - mostly because, unable to find my original copy, I have only recently repurchased a new edition for us to read. It's good timing though, as the story is just the right length for his 18-month attention span. He loves the wild rumpus pages and also loves to say "No" to the wild things, point out the moon throughout the story, and say "hot" at the very end when Max returns home to find his supper waiting for him. It is wonderful to see the development of Maximilian's language skills through sharing stories and this book has been a great example.

I've always found the wild rumpus pages are a great opportunity for children to interact with the story - particularly in a group setting such as library storytime, the kids love getting up and romping about like wild things!

I am sure this will be a book we will continue to enjoy for years to come. At the moment it is definitely a favourite and I often have to read it several times in a row!!