The Baby Who Wouldn't Go To Bed

Story

It’s bedtime but the baby doesn’t want to go to bed. He wants to stay up all night. He drives off in his little car seeking an adventure… He meets a tiger and some soldiers and a band of musicians but they are all too tired to play. Will the baby’s mother ever get the baby to bed?

Why we chose it

A magical story about bedtime. Author Helen Cooper co-curated our much loved Time for Bed exhibition, which was based on the story of The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed.

Where it came from

Helen Cooper (1963 - ) is an Oxford-based children’s author and illustrator. The fantasy land in The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed was inspired by a trip to Las Vegas, its over-the-top architecture, and the lonely expanse of desert surrounding it.

Where it went next

The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1996. In 2015 Helen Cooper designed and co-curated The Story Museum’s Time for Bed exhibition, which was inspired by the book. This featured the giant bed, which can now be found in Small Worlds at the museum.

Associated stories

Helen Cooper has written and illustrated numerous other picture books, including, The Bear Under The Stairs (1993), Pumpkin Soup (1998), Tatty Ratty (2001), A Pipkin of Pepper (2004), Delicious (2006) and Dog Biscuit(2008).

In the museum

Find the giant bed and Time for Bed mural in Small Worlds.