Llama Llama Red Pajama
Written by: Anna Dewdney
Illustrated by: Anna Dewdney
Age Range: 2 and up
Publisher: Viking
ISBN: 978-0-670-06204-1
Rundown
“Llama Llama Red Pajama” begins as mama llama is reading a bedtime story to baby llama. After getting a goodnight kiss, mama llama leaves baby llama’s room so he can go to sleep.
Baby llama begins to feel alone and calls for his mama. Mama llama is busy catching up on cleaning the dishes and yells to baby llama that she will be there soon.
Baby llama begins to worry and ultimately screams for his mama. Mama llama, fearing that baby llama is hurt, runs upstairs.
Mama llama helps baby llama understand that she is always nearby, even if she’s not right there in the room with him. She gives him two goodnight kisses and baby llama, knowing his mama loves him and is nearby, falls asleep.
Critique
The Illustrations are wonderful. They do a lot of the heavy lifting with clearly showing the varying emotions of baby llama and mama llama. A quality of a quality picture book, to me, is when the author uses less words and lets the illustrations do more of the talking. This book does just that.
Kids and adults can relate to the story incredibly well. Parents can relate to their child yelling for them after they have been tucked in. You know, there’s only 1000 things to get done after your child/children go to bed, so having to go back and re-tuck in your kids is not the most ideal scenario. The struggle is real.
Kids will relate to baby llama and wanting to see their parents again before going to sleep. Their struggle is real, too.
I really liked how the background color in baby llama’s room didn’t get intensified as baby llama began to become more distressed (or let’s be honest, lose his mind). The palette of the background remained cool and calm, subtly showing that baby llama really didn’t need to freak out about anything.
My only complaint is the book is a little long since it’s written for younger kids. Admittedly, this isn’t a huge deal, but I think it’s worth mentioning. The attention of young kids may start to wander before you reach the end of the book. But hey, maybe your kids are able to focus better than mine. If that’s the case, cheers to you!
Re-read Value
Here’s the metric I use: When you’re a parent and your child asks to read this book 3 or more days in a row, how likely are you to want to jump head first through a wall?
This book has a great cadence to it and the story is incredibly relevant. It incorporates a daily scenario in which both kids and parents take part. I love reading this book and I haven’t found myself growing tired of it. Since it’s such a relevant message for bedtime, reading the book to your kids in the evening is perfect.
Final Thoughts
Anna Dewdney was a wonderful author of a series of books that touched the lives of millions of children. She was taken from this world far too soon, but her legacy is cemented as one of the most influential children’s book authors of her generation.
Llama llama red pajama demonstrates for kids how to go to bed. It shows how throwing a fit over inconsequential things at bedtime really tires us parents out. It’s a good thing for young kids to see and begin to understand. It’s a book that your kids and parents will enjoy for different reasons. Give it a read and let me know what you think!
Look here for more children’s book reviews and some of my own short stories. Thanks for reading!