Skeletons in the Closet? Even Monsters Say Good Night by Doreen Muryan Marts

AVERY NEVER LIKED BEDTIME, AND SHE LIKED IT EVEN LESS ON HALLOWEEN WHEN ALL OF THE MONSTERS WERE OUT.

Her weary little weiner dog, still costumed as (what else?) a hot dog, has already dropped down on the living room floor for a doze, but Avery is still counting her trick-or-treat loot when Mom calls "Bedtime." She folds her wings and follows Mom to the bedroom, but not without some dread. How does she know that all those monsters out at Halloween aren't under her bed? Mom has an answer for that one all ready.

"AVERY, MONSTERS HAVE BEDTIMES, TOO."

Avery climbs into bed with her dog and cat, but she still has questions that keep her eyes wide open.

Mom, already stretched out on the sofa with her book, soon sees her former fairy daughter peering at her from over the sofa back.

Mom has answers at the ready. Glibly, she says witches go to bed when their breakfast potions are brewed. And werewolves sleep in dens like regular wolves do. Vampires? Well, they sleep by day in their caskets. Skeletons snooze--in closets, of course.

"MUMMIES SLEEP IN COFFIN BEDS INSIDE PYRAMIDS.

GHOSTS SLEEP INSIDE HAUNTED MANSIONS."

Avery is finally ready to wish a "sleep well" to all the creatures of the night in Doreen Muryan Marts' Even Monsters Say Good Night (Capstone Young Readers, 2015) in a bedtime story in which the main character gets wished a "Sleep tight," from all the monsters from their own particular bedtime places of repose. Told in easy text and speech bubbles, with funny sight gags to seek out, Marts' jolly Halloween-themed illustrations of the legendary denizens of the dark may take most of terror out of these scary critters for the youngest readers. A combo storytime offering, featuring both Halloween spooks and bedtime, this one is a unique read for the scary season.

For an up-close preview, see Capstone's clever trailer of this book here.

For a sleep-provoking pair, read this one with Maurice Sendak's pop-up monster tale, Mommy? ( a pop-up book) (Read my review from when this book was new here).