328A: The Little Girl Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed

I’m looking for a book that I loved when I was little. I was born in 1981 and had the book when I was around 3 or 4 years old. It was called “The Little Girl Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed” or “The Little Girl That Didn’t Want To Go To Bed” maybe? Not sure on the title. But I remember a lot about the book …

Every page was illustrated. In the beginning of the book the little girl doesn’t want to go to bed and her mother says something like, “Very well then, but father and I are going to sleep so you’ll be all alone.”
The whole rest of the book has the little girl going to all these different spots in the house to play – on one page her doll is asleep, on another all her stuffed animals are asleep, she goes from room to room of the house but all of her toys are asleep. She goes to her dollhouse and the dolls in there are asleep too. After going from room to room to find all of her toys sleeping she gives up and goes to bed too. Hope you can help me to find this book.

7 thoughts on “328A: The Little Girl Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed

  1. Jillian Sauers

    It sounds like it might be a book called The Longest Birthday:

    https://www.amazon.com/Longest-birthday-Nancy-Garber/dp/B00072UDVM

    What she wanted as a birthday present was to stay up all night, and her parents agreed. Her family went to bed, but her dog stayed up with her, and she camped out on the couch, playing with dolls. She heard a noise and got scared, but when she investigated, it was just her father snoring. She ends up falling asleep and wakes up the next morning when her family is having breakfast.

    I hope this was the right one!

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  2. Ang

    I was recently thinking of this book and searched the internet, only finding you, who was also looking. Then, after several weeks, I did the obvious thing and asked my mom, the preschool director, who found the book in a box in her basement within twenty minutes, of course. If it’s the same one, it’s a Golden Melody Book called Good Night, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. It includes a music box of Rock-a-bye Baby. I’m not able to find it online anywhere and I can’t seem to share a picture here. If you think this sounds right I can post some photos and link you to them!

    Reply
  3. harve strouse

    I’ve been looking for years for this book. We read it to my daughter (b 1985) exactly as you described. Any luck finding it yet?

    Reply
  4. Heather Brinkerhoff

    And, look at ‘Amy’s Long Night’. A Whitman tell a tale book.by Nancy Garner.
    Distinctive cover, with girl and dog.

    Reply
  5. Heather Brinkerhoff

    I had been looking for a mass market picture book with a simular theme, where the little girl wouldn’t go to bed, and was left alone, awake while everyone slept- including the dolls and the dollhouse.
    But my book was this one, ‘Good Morning/Good Night’, also illustrated by Eloise Wilkin- but this one is turned upside down after the little girl’s story is finished, and the story of a little boy who wouldn’t wake up is told, too.

    Reply
    1. Barbara Andersen

      Looking for this book too. Loved it in the 1950s when I was growing up. Can still remember some of the illustrations. Good luck!

      Reply

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