10 Minutes till Bedtime

1998 December 26


This was a Christmas present from me to Mike the year we were waiting for the Possum. The Spouse had been fond of saying that the hamsters came and threw a party and wrecked the place while he was sleeping, so I gave him a book in which the hamsters came and got into trouble.

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2001 Jan 13

One of the most beloved picture books we have. I don't know how it came up the other night, but I told the girls why I'd given their father a copy of it. So then Tash wanted to read it again but she couldn't find our copy (I suspect it is packed away with other toddler delights). Last night we went to the library and she asked me to get it for her. She read it while the Spouse and I were fixing supper. After supper she wanted to read it show more together, with me providing the father's voice, and she, the hamsters. And then Veronica came in, and she hadn't read it in forever, so we all went through it again. We had to look in amazement at the pictures of the book within the book, we had to find the ten little hamsters in every picture (the girls didn't remember that they are each doing a distinctive thing in each spread [like 9 is always up high, and 8 is always hiding his/her head under something]), and we had to laugh in delight at the stuffed gorilla, and the stuffed [b:Officer Buckle & Gloria|857445|Officer Buckle & Gloria|Peggy Rathmann|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348468943s/857445.jpg|325563], and at the shadows of [b:Good Night, Gorilla|773276|Good Night, Gorilla|Peggy Rathmann|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347227009s/773276.jpg|2992071] in the background.

A good picture book delights a child on repeated reading. A brilliant picture book delights adults and children on repeated viewing. This is one of the ten best picture books of all time.

Personal copy show less

At 1 Hoppin Place, the 10-Minute Bedtime Tour is about to begin...do you know where your hamsters are?

Lost in his newspaper, a dad calls out each minute left in a 10 minute bedtime countdown. He's oblivious to the horde of tourist hamsters that have come to watch his son prepare for bed. The hamsters come by truck, car, bicycle, and the bus load. You'll giggle over the antics of this very busy and rowdy bunch. You'll wonder if the boy will make it to bed on time with so many furry distractions about. Next time your child dons their pajamas and brushes their teeth before bed, they may be on the lookout for their own hamster audience.

Peggy Rathmann's brightly colored illustrations and attention to detail will amaze you. I'd give you show more examples but the fun is in discovering that on your own. No two passes through the book are the same. Children just developing language skills will happily identify objects on each page while the next age set will delight in describing the events of the unfolding story. Older children will enjoy catching some of the 'inside jokes' contained within the illustrations. Adults might actually enjoy repeat requests to read this book. It is for ages 1 to one leg in the grave. A recent addition to our house but a popular one. Hurry and get in line for the next tour. show less

I could see parents using this book for young children just learning about numbers and bedtime. The pictures are phenomenal with very bright colors and details. The story is great for teaching children about the different steps that need to be taken before getting into bed. The book also counts backwards which is more unusual for counting books. It counts backwards from 10 minutes down to 1 minute, this is a different way to learn counting and I have not seen many counting books designed this way. I would say that the best aspect of the book is the illustrations. There are not very many words but the details of each illustration on every page make for a new experience each read through.

These are very bright and detailed drawings- it would be a fun bedtime story. It also would be useful to help children realize that alll children have to get ready for bed, and doing so can be a fun, imaginative process! The story is great for teaching children about the different steps that need to be taken before getting into bed. The book also counts backwards which is more unusual for counting books - I haven't encountered many books set up this way.

This story had very little text , but is still one of my favorite books. I felt the illustrations were wonderfully detailed. Every page has so much to look at and even reading the book 10 years later I still notice details I hadn't previously spotted. On every page there is a hamster copying the little boy, the main character, of the story. There is also a baby hamster who is the only one to ever speak, a pair of hamsters who carry around underwear and one with a camera who takes pictures of everything. The text on each page is a simple speech bubble coming from the father saying how many minutes are left until bed time. Young children and new readers will like the big font, small amounts of text and even bigger illustrations to get show more them hooked on the book. Older readers can also be tested on how observant they are and how well they remember details from page to page. Although there is not ,much text, there are a lot opportunities to make this story to a great lesson and a wonderful read. show less

I first read this book while working at a summer camp for preschoolers. During read aloud, a boy brought me this book. I had never seen it before. As I read, I became increasingly drawn into the story by the highly detailed pictures. I was so amused by the touring hamsters, that the children I was supposed to be reading too began calling out things like "turn the page", and "keep reading!" My first impression of this book is that it is more for entertainment purposes than counting instruction. However, with a properly designed lesson, the counting aspect can be drawn out without sacrificing the humor following the hamsters' antics.

When your imagination runs wild, 10 minutes can feel like both 1 minute and an hour. ?áLots can happen... if you hurry. ?áReminds me of the mess and then quick clean-up of The Cat in the Hat, but a totally original and delightful story of its own. ?áHamsters! ?áAnd a child who wears green, and could be a boy or a girl! ?áAnd cute references to Rathmann's other wonderful stories.