Holy Pajamas! Bedtime for Batman by Michael Dahl

EACH DAY THE SUN SETS.

EACH EVENING THE DARK NIGHT RISES.

As a young Robin finishes building his own block version of Gotham city, outside his window the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne, climbs into his tights, cape, and Batman mask.

The little Robin wannabe also climbs into his Batman pajamas, as Bruce points to the Batclock. It's time to prepare for the night.

Our little Robin sticks to the checklist: he puts away his toys, washes up, brushes his teeth, and climbs up and up into his towering top bunk, while Batman looks down from a gargoyle atop his skyscraper at the city below. It's time for the Dark Knight to do his duty.

"THERE'S A LONG NIGHT AHEAD!"

To sometimes weary parents, bedtime is a nightly adventure and getting youngsters to take to their beds is indeed a heroic deed, and author Michael Dahl gives young superhero lovers something to dream about in his new Bedtime for Batman (DC Super Heroes) (Capstone Young Readers, 2016.) With the help of artist Ethen Beavens' dramatic comic-book-style illustrations, the boy's bedside window becomes the movie screen upon which the Dark Knight carries out his mission during the, er, dark night. Comparing going to bed to the caped crusaders' nightly derring-do may be a bit of a stretch, but a good imagination and a pair of pajamas with a cape may make the transition a bit easier for those little bedtime resisters of the action figure persuasion.

Says Kirkus Reviews, "... this is certainly a niche read, but it hits its mark well, delivering fun without darkness. A 'bedtime checklist' at the end aptly includes 'story time.'"

Pair this one with its DC Comics' companion book, EVEN SUPER HEROES SLEEP (DC Super Heroes) or with one of Michael Dahl's noted bedtime stories for the action-oriented, Goodnight Baseball (Sports Illustrated Kids Bedtime Books) (See review here) and Goodnight Football (Fiction Picture Books).