Down to Sleep! Brownie and Pearl Hit the Hay by Cynthia Rylant

Brownie is reading in her big comfy chair, but her feline pal Pearl is nodding off beside her. It's about time for the two to hit the hay!

But first Brownie takes a warm bath in a bathtub filled with bubbles. Pearl eschews the sudsy tub, settling for giving her paws a good tongue-washing.

Brownie pulls on her soft jammies.

Pearl does not need jammies.

But there is one more thing to do before they head upstairs for Brownie's bedroom--the bedtime snack and story.

Yes, PLEASE!!

The two take a cookie and pick out a book. Pearl picks out her favorite for Brownie to read--Miss Kitty.

Read it again, PLEASE!

And at last it's time to call it a day and curl up and snuggle under Brownie's coverlet with--what else--the moon on it.

Brownie and Pearl are best buddies, but who knew they were also bed buddies? And what could be better for Brownie than snuggling with her all-day buddy, Pearl the cat, in Newbery and Caldecott-winning writer Cynthia Rylant's cozy bedtime beginner book, Brownie and Pearl Hit the Hay (Beach Lane Books). The inseparable duo share their comfy bedtime routines--bath, snack, and bedtime story, read and re-read over and over again. Brian Biggs' cheery illustrations achieve a plenitude of charm without lapsing into into the banal cutesy cliche of some bedtime kitten books. This little book is great for emergent readers to use to hone their skills and store them away in their brains at the best time of day for memory--bedtime.