Page Grabbers · Just Like My Day

Maisy Goes to Bed

A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the Page Grabbers stage.

Cover of Maisy Goes to Bed
by Lucy Cousins · Candlewick Press

Why it fits Page Grabbers (for young toddlers who treat books as things to do)

Maisy the mouse walks through her whole bedtime routine. Toddlers love auditing another creature's routine against their own. Bold, flat colors that read clearly from arm's length.

What makes it special

Cousins draws with a toddler's own visual grammar: thick black outlines, flat brilliant color, zero clutter. Maisy's bedtime routine mirrors the reader's own, step for auditable step. Routine made visible is routine made negotiable — bedtime resistance drops when the mouse does it first.

From the publisher

It's time for Maisy to go to bed. First she drinks her bedtime drink, then she has to brush her teeth, wash her hands, and put on her pajamas. There's lots to do. So pull the tabs, lift the flaps, and help Maisy get…

About Lucy Cousins

Lucy Cousins is the British creator of Maisy Mouse — over 21 million books in 29 languages — drawn in her instantly recognizable thick-outline, flat-color style that matches how toddlers themselves draw and see.

Cousins developed Maisy from her art-school sketchbooks just as her first children arrived; she has said she paints 'like a child with very good motor control,' which is precisely the charm.

Also by this author: Maisy Goes to Preschool · Maisy's Bus · Hooray for Fish!

Find this book

More from “Just Like My Day”

This book is part of The Best Books for Toddlers: 30 Teacher Picks (Page Grabbers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →

Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.