Once again, Lauren Child brings us all another good children’s story. This time it’s all about the dreaded bedtime woes. I am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed takes us on Charlie’s difficult task of helping Lola to bed for the night. As always, Lola’s imagination is her number one fighting power but Charlie knows just how to handle his little sister and all her wild creatures that prevent her from getting a good night’s sleep with proper hygiene.

Charlie is in charge of getting Lola into bed on time and with her teeth brushed and pajamas on. Lola isn’t having it because she is not sleepy and will not go to bed. She would rather be up dancing, coloring, singing and playing. She doesn’t have time to go to bed. There is still too much fun to have and she is never sleepy. Lola is more than ready to make her big brother Charlie jump through all the hoops she can find before she’ll accommodate the night time routine. Good thing Charlie has had plenty of practice with his sister’s ever so wild imagination. From having to give all the tigers at the table pink milk because they get very cross if they have to not being able to brush her teeth due to a lion using her toothbrush, poor Charlie really has to work for it.

Bath time poses a problem too. Lola can’t get into the tub because there are whales swimming in there. There isn’t enough room for Lola to get in. So now big brother Charlie has to shoo one of them down the drain. The story just gets better and better as she has to get closer and closer to getting into bed for the night. On to pajamas after her nice warm bath, Charlie again is told no, she won’t put them on. The pajamas Charlie has for her do not belong to her. They belong to two dancing dogs and Charlie better get on the phone and call the two dancing dogs and ask if it is okay for Lola to wear their pajamas before she’ll get into them.

With her pink milk served and drank, her teeth brushed, her bath taken care of and permission from the two dancing dogs to wear their pajamas, Charlie asks Lola to please get into bed. But not to Charlie’s surprise, Lola can’t. This time Charlie takes a guess as to why his little sister Lola can’t get into bed. He guesses that there is huge hippopotamus in her bed.

“Don’t be silly, Charlie. I wouldn’t let a hippopotamus into my bed. But I think there’s one in yours.”

My family and I just absolutely love Lola and Charlie’s imaginations in this bedtime story. Over the years, I, like most parents out there, have heard our fare share of excuses and tall tales when it comes to bedtime procrastination. I love the way Lauren Child has Charlie handle his little sister by counteracting her imagination with his to get the job done.