You Be Good & I'll Be Night: Jump-On-The-Bed Poems

This is one of the best books of poetry for young children I have ever reviewed. I am an elementary school librarian, and I want this book for all the young children in my life... students and relatives alike. It is a total delight!

Our 2-year-old twins request this book every night for their bedtime story, it is a great hit and they love the lyrical poems and the great illustrations. I would recommend this for any child and just bought it for all three of our new nephews and niece for Christmas.

Every poem in this book is special. The poems are fun to read aloud and will show your young child just how wonderful words can be. My five-year old loves the one about crunchy muffins and crumbly crumbs... not to mention the one about the ghost who dropped his chocolate ice cream cone. If you're looking for a way to introduce your child to poetry, this is it.

You'll use rhymes from this book in your daily conversations! I quote to my son "You're my jumping, you're my jack, whenever I leave I always come back!" whenever I leave him with a sitter. Also, the title poem is wonderful, with rhymes like "You be saucer, I'll be cup, piggyback, piggyback, pick me up!" which my son will say when he wants -- well, you see what I mean -- it's infectious! Fun, silly rhymes show off poetry as pure pleasure -- not exactly the way I saw it before I read this! My son, by the way, is 2 1/2, and my daughter, 11 months, loves it too -- great way to introduce reading to her since she likes the rhythm and the text isn't too long to hold her interest! She bounces along to every selection!

When my three year old son woke up after hearing this book the first time the night before he (1) took it to pre-school with him, and (2) asked me to teach him to read it. That was a first. Here is the first (title, but by no means uniquely best) poem:You be saucerand I'll be cuppiggyback, piggybackpick me upYou be treeand I'll be pearscarry me, carry meup the stairsYou be goodand I'll be nighttuck me in, tuck me innice and tight(At least as I recall it.)