DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES

What better way to make a rambunctious toddler fall asleep than to tell him, “Don’t close your eyes.” That’s exactly what my friend, Bob Hostetler does in his silly new bedtime storybook, entitled, you guessed it, Don’t Close Your Eyes.

With three of my own boisterous male tots, I know how hard it is to still the ants in their ever-moving pants. Exhausted from cleaning dried food, dirty floors and even dirtier bottoms when they were young, I needed a break and nothing succeeded in this monumental task like a good book. Not just any book - there were prerequisites that had to be met for the task at hand was gigantic.

Prerequisite number one: Is the book just the right length? Too long and I might be the one falling asleep. Too short and the kids would be hanging from the ceiling fan instead of drifting off.

Prerequisite number two: Is the book colorful? An array of shades provides a great way to reinforce the colors they’re starting to learn throughout the day.

And finally, prerequisite number three: Are there lots of animals? Throw in a curly tail, whiskers and a pig snout and you’ve got ‘em right where you want ‘em!

Bob’s book, set to release this Tuesday, February 5th checks all of these boxes and more. I promised Bob however I would be objective. What kind of friend would I be if not? There is one complaint I have. If you’re reading this Bob, I hope you’ll understand I must be totally honest...

Why couldn’t you have written this book eight years earlier?

Seriously, that’s the only complaint I have about this adorable board book. I wish I could have read it to my boys when they were little. That didn’t stop me from recreating the moment though! And I’ll tell you a secret, they still loved it!