The Magic Bed - Hardcover

Burningham, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375824235 ISBN 13: 9780375824234

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2003

Synopsis

When Georgie outgrows his baby bed, he chooses a big second-hand bed that the thrift shop owner tells him is magic. “The lady who had it before said you could travel in it.” Georgie’s granny teases him about his magic bed. But every night, Georgie has a new adventure with tigers or gnomes or pirates in faraway places. Some nights he would swim with dolphins, which is why his bed is sometimes wet in the morning. And when his granny replaces the old relic with a spanking-new bed, Georgie has his revenge.

John Burningham’s playful handling of a child’s imagination and the special relationship a child has with his or her bed makes this a good-night story that children will beg to hear again and again.

About this title

About the Author:

John Burningham has been praised by The New Yorker as “one of the finest and most original writers at work today.” His most recent picture book is Hushabye.

From Booklist:

PreS. When little Georgie outgrows his crib, he chooses an antique replacement that is inscribed with the promise of magic if he says his prayers and a secret password, which he finally discovers. Every night thereafter, Georgie embarks on a new and different journey: through the jungle, on a swim with dolphins ("which is why his bed was sometimes wet in the mornings"), in the stream of dreamtime traffic, or racing geese and witches. Then Georgie's family replaces his magic bed with a bland new one, but he manages one last flight. The ambiguous ending is a bit weak, the subject (a child's secret nighttime adventures) isn't new, and a few details are unclear: Whom does Georgie live with? How old is he? But Burningham's simple, sly sentences and whimsical mixed-media art will immediately transport children on their own imagined departures, while reassuring little ones who are dreading new, big beds of their own. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0375824235
• ISBN 13: 9780375824234
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48