Don’t Turn the Page! Picture Book Activities

“Like most children, Sami puts off going to bed for as long as possible. But reading a story about Little Bear’s bedtime ritual inspires Sammy, just as the young reader will be inspired by this soothing story and clever book-within-a-book concept. A bedtime book that both parent and child will relish reading one more time, Don’t Turn the Page! features a surprise ending that reinforces the sense that its bedtime for everyone.”

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Don’t Turn the Page! by Rachelle Burk and Illustrated by Julie Downing is a charming book that children will want to read again and again. This book is published by Creston Books. Check out their websites for more information.

The Importance of Bedtime Rituals for Children

The bedtime ritual is one that is familiar to parents everywhere. Establishing and maintaining good sleep habits helps your child fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up rested and refreshed. It may also prevent future sleep problems. Reading books is one of my favorite ways to put my child to bed. Not only does it help the little one relax and get to sleep, but it is also the beginning of building literacy skills. This book is sure to become a favorite in many homes. Rachelle Burk has some attractive free printable coloring and book activities for Don’t Turn the Page! on her website. Be sure to check it out.

Along with reading books we had many bedtime rituals. Starting with a bath, we would read books and once she was safely tucked into bed I would give her a list of “loves”. This consisted of going through the long list of people who loved her and being grateful her life was filled with so much love. Then her dad would come in and they would do their own version of “Don’t let the bedbugs bite, I will see you in the morning light.” He would start “Don’t let the______…” and she would fill in the blank. It was particularly cute when her friends or cousins slept over and they would ask to participate, too. Doing these rituals every night helped bedtime go smoothly and also made sure that no matter how hectic the day had been, we always reconnected before we went to sleep.

Once all the rituals were done, she would always need to be surrounded by her favorite stuffed friends. So in honor of Don’t Turn the Page, we made our own Bedtime Buddies.

Make your own sweet smelling Bedtime Buddy for your children to snuggle with while reading Don’t Turn the Page and it will soon be your child’s favorite stuffed friend!