The Best Bed for Me

by Gaia Cornwall, Gaia Cornwall (Illustrator)

Overview

From the creator of Jabari Jumps and Jabari Tries, the tale of a stalling child with a lively imagination—and a passion for animal facts—makes for the best kind of bedtime story.

Mama and Mommy would like Sweet Pea to settle into bed, but it’s not quite time. Even though the bed is fluffy, it’s not as snuggly as curling up like a pig in the mud, or as spacious as sleeping in the wide ocean like a blue whale. It’s not as fun as sleeping high up in a tree like a koala, or hanging upside down like a bat. And it’s definitely not as relaxing as sleeping standing up, like an emperor penguin. But after mimicking all the ways different animals rest, this little one concedes that a comfy bed, a soft pillow, and a good-night wish offer the best way to fall asleep after all. Gaia Cornwall brings us a loving, humorous story for even the most energetic of bedtime listeners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536226805
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/17/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Gaia Cornwall loves to write and illustrate for children. She is the author-illustrator of Jabari Jumps, her debut picture book, which was a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book and an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, as well as its follow-up, Jabari Tries. Gaia Cornwall lives in Vermont.

About Me:
I live in Providence, Rhode Island, with my husband (who is a programmer), our son (who is really into construction machinery), and daughter (who is really into chewing on things—she's a baby). We also have two cats who probably wish they lived by themselves.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't drawing and when I didn't have strong opinions about picture books. I went to art school (Pratt Institute) and studied animation. After that, I did a bunch of mostly fun things (like producing a film festival, babysitting for wonderful families, animating cartoons for network television and film, and working on a documentary), but I'm so happy to now be illustrating and writing books for kids.

About My Work:
The story that became Jabari Jumps was originally inspired by the Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones. Among other things, he was the first African American to hold a world record in swimming! He now work with a cool program, Make a Splash, that teaches kids how to swim. My first character sketches of Jabari and his father were based on my cousin and his dad.

Most of my pieces start with good ole pencil and paper, and are then finished digitally, often by collaging different elements together. I approach each project like an intricate puzzle made up of many ever-shifting pieces. It’s a trick to get all the moving parts to fit, but it’s a process I love. My work has been featured online, in interactive games, on assorted products, in films, as murals, and in various forms of print.

Three Things You Didn't Know About Me:
My mom helped me shave my head in high school. Before that, I had super long hair that I would put up in buns for ballet dancing. I have a disease called Crohn’s and have to give myself shots. I'll be honest: I hate doing it, but I'm getting pretty good. I am brave! I have gone swimming with whale sharks. It was awesome.

Editorial Reviews

03/07/2022

Bedtime delays abound in this book centering a young animal lover. While a child envisions snoozing as different creatures do, a parent patiently attempts to wind things down as another adult tends to an infant. “Maybe I could sleep upside down like... a bat! They hold on with their feet and hang down from branches,” says the brown-skinned, rosy-cheeked child, portrayed in red footie pj’s among a colony of bats. “My little bat, it’s time to calm our bodies down,” replies tan-skinned, short-haired Mama. Cycling through koalas, sea otters, piglets, puffins, whales, and emperor penguins, the story integrates notable facts about the featured critters’ nocturnal habits, while pencil and watercolor illustrations finished digitally show the child cozying up with friendly wildlife pals who seem similarly disinclined to settle. After a smooth segue by Mama that emphasizes a loving parent-child relationship, the book reaches a snuggly conclusion that sets the stage for sweet animal dreams. Ages 3–7. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Cornwall’s art, rendered in pencil and watercolor with a digital finish, uses a restrained palette of minimal, muted colors that adds a soporific feel to the narrative. . . . A sweet, playful bedtime story with animal appeal.

—Kirkus Reviews

The premise is simple, yet Cornwall’s digitally colored pencil and watercolor art renders these gentle fantasies of wild animal slumber tremendously effective. . . . An aesthetic and inclusive picture book, this makes a charming bedtime reverie.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The real thread of the story is the tender, loving dance of coaxing a child to sleep. Cornwall (Jabari Jumps, 2017) puts the child in fire engine–red pajamas that energetically pop against the muted, nighttime hues of pea green, gentle mauve, and denim blue on the mothers, the seafoam bedroom walls, and sky-blue bed. Same-sex couples and mixed-race families will be thrilled to see themselves represented, and the child (and the bountiful terms of endearment used for them) is kept deliberately ungendered. A sweet tale for sweet dreams.
—Booklist

Cycling through koalas, sea otters, piglets, puffins, whales, and emperor penguins, the story integrates notable facts about the featured critters’ nocturnal habits, while pencil and watercolor illustrations finished digitally show the child cozying up with friendly wildlife pals who seem similarly disinclined to settle. After a smooth segue by Mama that emphasizes a loving parent-child relationship, the book reaches a snuggly conclusion that sets the stage for sweet animal dreams.
—Publishers Weekly

This super sweet bedtime book features two moms trying to gently get their imaginative child back in bed. . . a playful, sweet book that I'm sure many parents and children will relate to.
—Book Riot

From the Publisher

2022-01-12
A young child’s imagination runs wild before bedtime.

It’s lights out, but energetic Sweet Pea, depicted with light-brown skin and straight hair, isn’t quite ready to go to sleep yet. Mama, a stout White woman, repeatedly tries to tuck them in, but they obstruct her attempts by chattering on about all the various ways they could sleep. Climbing up a bedpost, they declare that they want to sleep like koalas do, high up in trees. Hiding under their pillow, they pretend that they are dozing like a puffin in its burrow. Standing on their bed, they wonder if they can sleep upright like emperor penguins snoozing on rocks. After making their way through several more animals and their sleeping habits, Sweet Pea's stalling ends as they conclude that their bed is “the best bed for me.” Cornwall’s art, rendered in pencil and watercolor with a digital finish, uses a restrained palette of minimal, muted colors that adds a soporific feel to the narrative. The text is dialogue-heavy but flows easily and combines the humor of Sweet Pea’s bedtime antics with the tenderness of their relationship with their patient caregivers. The illustrations show that Sweet Pea has two moms, one of whom shares their skin color and hair color.

A sweet, playful bedtime story with animal appeal. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews