It's bedtime on the farm, but when Pig toddles to his sty and plops down to go to sleep ooo! Cow is inside! Cow then tromps to her stall to sleep, only to find Hen there! Hen straggles to her coop, only to find Horse there, and so on. Is no one sleeping in their own bed? There is a lot of delightful language at play here rse goes "cloppety-plod," Dog moves "sniffety-drag," Hen spouts expletives like, "Oh, fluff and feathers!" an otherwise wonderfully simple story. The turn-the-page clues that further the story line are well laid out in both the text and the pictures, and the ending is a sweet, full-circle surprise. Nichols' illustrations are done in muted, bedtime tones of shadowy blues and greens, and Fleming's incorporation of the repeated refrains of "Who do you think he found?" and the title line to "Go sleep in your own bed!" lend themselves perfectly well to a read-aloud experience, whether alone with a caretaker and child or with a larger group at a family storytime.
Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)All is chaos as the farm animals try to settle in for the night. Not only is the cow in the pigsty, but the chickens are in her stall, the horse is in the chicken coop, and so on. With its amusing onomatopoeia ("clompety-stomp," "peckety-droop") and cross, snippy farm animals, the story is highly entertaining and pairs smoothly with the bold, expressive art.
Kirkus ReviewsIt's bedtime on the farm, but no one seems to want to sleep in the proper place."Snuggled in. / Snuggled down. / Bedtime on the farm." Pig heads over to his sty. "But when he plopped down— / Moooo! / Who do you think he found?" Pig squeals at cow to get up and "Go sleep in your own bed!" Cow makes her sleepy way to her stall, but when she snuggles down…she sits on Hen! So Cow tells Hen to go sleep in her own bed. Hen sends Horse packing; Horse sends Sheep to her pen; Sheep sends Dog to his kennel; Dog chases Cat away. " ‘Oh, drat,' mewed Cat. / And she tiptoed to her spot, pittery-pat." But when Cat settles down, she hears something very different: "Oh, there you are! Come sleep in my bed!" And the white child readers met at the beginning of the book and Cat snuggle down in the cozy, quilt-covered bed. Fleming pens a bedtime roundabout full of animal noises, quaintly rustic expostulations ("Oh, hayseeds"), crunchy verbs, and rhythmic nonsense suggesting onomatopoeic movement. Cow lows and tromps; Horse whickers and shambles. The patterned text will have children joining in with gusto. Nichols' digitally colored acrylic illustrations in hues of blue and gray nicely suggest a sleepy, twilit farm. A pleasant bedtime tale and effortless read-aloud with a cuddly, quiet end. (Picture book. 2-6)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Night has fallen on the farm and, as in many human households, none of the animals wants to sleep in its own bed. Pig-s plan to get shut-eye in his sty is thwarted when he discovers Cow sleeping there. Cow is admonished, but after she trudges to her stall, her derriere lands on Hen. And so it goes. The only animal who doesn-t have to settle for her assigned bed is Cat, who gets a plum spot indoors, snuggled up with her young caretaker. Nichols-s (
ALA Booklist
Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Wilson's Children's Catalog
From bestselling, award-winning author Fleming and beloved illustrator of the Maple books Nichols comes a giggle-inducing read-aloud starring a cast of comically grumpy barnyard animals. Sure to become a bedtime favorite.
This funny and irresistible picture book feels like a classic in the making. When Pig plops into his sty at bedtime, he finds Cow fast asleep in his spot. "Go sleep in your own bed!" he squeals, and sends her packing. But when Cow finally snuggles down into her stall, she finds Hen sleeping there. So begins a chain reaction of snoozing barnyard animals being awakened and sent off to their own beds, until every last one is in just the right place. Young children will delight in repeating the refrain "Go sleep in your own bed!" and laugh at the antics of these hilarious—and very sleepy—farm animals.
Praise for Oh, No! by Candace Fleming:
*"Reads like an instant classic. Oh, yes! This is a terrific new picture book." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
*"It's a book with the feel of an old classic—and it may well become one." —Publishers Weekly, Starred
"A winner for 3- and 4-year-olds." —The New York Times
Praise for the Maple series by Lori Nichols:
*“Readers will fall in love with Maple.” —School Library Journal, Starred
“Utterly charming.” —The New York Times