One Minute till Bedtime: 60-Second Poems to Send You off to Sleep

by Kenn Nesbitt (Editor), Christoph Niemann (Illustrator)

Overview

Just one more before bedtime? Please??

It's time for tuck-in, and your little one wants just one more moment with you—so fill it with something that will feed the imagination, fuel a love of reading, and send them off to sleep in a snap. Reach for a one-minute poem!

Former Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt presents a blockbuster collection of all-new poetry penned by some of the most beloved and celebrated poets of our time, including Jack Prelutsky, Jon Scieszka, Mary Ann Hoberman, Nikki Grimes, Lemony Snicket, Jane Yolen, and many more. Illuminated with dreamlike wit and whimsy by New York Times illustrator and award-winning artist Christoph Niemann, here is a new bedtime classic.

When the busy day is drawing to a close and the whole family is ready for rest, take a minute for poetry and send your little one off to sleep.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316341219
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kenn Nesbitt acted as Children's Poet Laureate from 2013-2015. He has published many books of verse for children and has been a vocal advocate for bringing the joy of poetry into a daily routine. He lives in a big old house in Spokane, Washington, with his family.

Christoph Niemann is an award-winning artist and designer. His art can be seen in the New York Times, on the cover of the New Yorker magazine, and in a variety of books for children and adults, including I Lego N.Y., Subway, and Abstract City. He lives in Berlin and Brooklyn.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/17/2016
Former Children’s Poet Laureate Nesbitt compiles a dizzyingly creative assortment of new bedtime-ready poems, each of which can be read in less than a minute. Calef Brown, Margarita Engle, J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Singer, and Lemony Snicket are among dozens of contributors, whose works vary widely in tone, form, and subject. Niemann’s minimalistic illustrations—rendered in muted shades of blue, brown, and green—accentuate each poem. In Ron Koertge’s “Bedtime on 7th Avenue,” where “Even graffiti opens its loud neon mouth and yawns,” Niemann shows a water tower snoozing on its side. And in Nina Laden’s ode to a chameleon (“Of all the kinds of lizards/ He’s really quite a wizard”), the reptile is snugly incorporated into a thickly outlined jigsaw puzzle. With a broad range of voices and sentiments, the collection delivers poems to meet any mood. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

* "These pithy poetic observations and Niemann's engaging illustrations prove at once antidote and anodyne for the sleep-averse child demanding just one more....A dreamy collection of bedtime poems and witty illustrations that's anything but sleepy."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "With a broad range of voices and sentiments, the collection delivers poems to meet any mood."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Exuberant for the most part (with some serious musings to lend ballast) and in perfect harmony with its cartoonish, color-washed illustrations, this sleepy-time volume is just the thing for the rhyme-loving child who has graduated from Mother Goose."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Nonsense poems, wordplay, nature, whimsy, and tenderness all mix together here in a collection that families with children from preschool through primary grades and beyond will enjoy reading together before bed."—Horn Book

"This is a treasury to be dipped into as needed, and therefore it's suitable for a wide range of listeners...."—The Bulletin

From the Publisher

Whimsical characters take center stage in these silly, loving, and entertaining poems by a variety of poets, including Jane Yolen, Kenn Nesbitt, Jon Scieszka, and Jack Prelutsky. Together, they go about filling young listeners’ ears with poetry covering many subjects. Leathery wings, kisses for a crayon, a sugar-coated crunchy-crusted moon, and a nonsense word “boof” play on the pages in a way that will satisfy little ones who want to hear “one more” thing read to them before they drop off to sleep. In one poem, a hippo has a “bubbled yawn” that she lets cover her until she is in a “soggy sleep.” Another features green socks, old and new socks, woolly socks, cotton socks, pink, spotty socks, and socks that are lost in the wash. This well-written poem conjures up many pictures of socks for listeners to think about. (To help your child drift into sleep, suggest he close his eyes to “see” the socks there.) Another poem, entitled “Gesundheit,” features a disappearing and reappearing man. Fascinating line illustrations enhance and add humor to the poems. This book contains a plethora of read-aloud material and also gives hints about subjects that little ones could use to create their own poems. This collection offers never-ending options for what to read. Add it to your home or school collection for a sure winner. Reviewer: Nancy Garhan Attebury; Ages 4 to 8.

Children's Literature - Nancy Garhan Attebury

★ 11/01/2016
K-Gr 4—This charming compendium holds a wide variety of poetic forms and emotions, from bits of "concrete" to slices of doggerel, from bursts of giggles to slathers of joy—and with a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Nikki Grimes, Marilyn Singer, Jon Scieszka, and more, it's bound to be a lasting contribution to collections. All the pieces are rather short in length—perfect for those bedtime or read-aloud pleas of "just one more!" Poems where moon mice "know the moon is made of cheese," seagulls throw parties "but never cook, ever," and sleepy weeds "lean against each other" are sure to enchant adults and children alike. VERDICT Exuberant for the most part (with some serious musings to lend ballast) and in perfect harmony with its cartoonish, color-washed illustrations, this sleepy-time volume is just the thing for the rhyme-loving child who has graduated from Mother Goose.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2016-09-19
A substantial compilation of new poems for children by over 130 poets.The opening salvo of former Children’s Poet Laureate Nesbitt’s hefty anthology of “60-second” poems designed to send children “off to sleep” lets the cat out of the bag as to what bedtime’s really about. Having performed basic end-of-day tasks (“Had a bath and / brushed my teeth; / those on top / and underneath”) and prepped for a good night’s sleep, Nesbitt’s speaker rejoices: “All that’s done; / at last I’m freed. / Finally, / it’s time to read.” Here, as throughout the collection, Niemann’s boldly inked drawing of a teddy bear’s free-fall dive into the waiting pool of an open book succinctly and suggestively captures the spirit of the accompanying poem—and, in this case, the entire anthology. Presented with over 140 new poems by many of today’s most prominent children’s poets (Mary Ann Hoberman, Margarita Engle, Jack Prelutsky, Ron Koertge, Nikki Grimes), readers are treated to lyric nighttime reflections on topics as disparate as relationships with favorite pets or grandparents, beloved “toasty, warm jammies,” and one’s blankie—“old and manky.” There’s also plenty of nonsense verse sure to inspire wild dreaming “on the road to morning.” These pithy poetic observations and Niemann’s engaging illustrations prove at once antidote and anodyne for the sleep-averse child demanding just one more…. A dreamy collection of bedtime poems and witty illustrations that’s anything but sleepy. (Poetry. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews