About This Book
Reach for this book when you are in the thick of bedtime battles and need a way to laugh about the chaos rather than succumb to the frustration. Mortimer is a persistent little boy who simply refuses to go to sleep, preferring to belt out a loud, repetitive song every time a family member or even a police officer leaves his room. This story normalizes the boundary-pushing behavior common in young children while providing a humorous, exaggerated look at how a household reacts to a wakeful child. Parents will appreciate the clever twist where the adults eventually exhaust themselves, allowing the child to finally drift off on his own terms. It is a lighthearted, noisy, and cathartic read for families dealing with high-energy bedtimes.
What Parents Should Know
Sensitive Topics
Parents may want to be aware that two police officers enter Mortimer’s bedroom to tell him to be quiet; depending on a child's comfort level with authority figures or law enforcement, this may require a brief conversation.
Ideal Reader
A high-energy 4-year-old who loves to participate in stories and perhaps struggles to 'switch off' at night. It is perfect for children who enjoy repetitive refrains and physical comedy.
Parent Prep
This book is best read 'hot' rather than cold. Parents should be prepared to sing Mortimer's song with gusto and use different voices for the various characters to maximize the humor. Additionally, be ready to explain why police officers might show up in a silly story like this, ensuring you are prepared for questions about their role and presence in a child's home. The repetitive 'thump, thump, thump' of footsteps and the screeching 'MORTIMER, BE QUIET!' might resonate a little too closely with parents currently dealing with sleep deprivation or bedtime defiance.
Age Experience
Toddlers and preschoolers will find the repetition and the song incredibly engaging, often joining in. Older children (6-7) will appreciate the irony of the adults becoming the noisy ones at the end of the book.
What Makes It Special
Unlike many bedtime books that aim to soothe a child to sleep with soft imagery, Mortimer uses noise and 'anti-logic' to address the reality of a child's internal motor that won't stop running.
Read plot summary
Mortimer's parents take him upstairs to bed, but as soon as they leave, he sings a boisterous song. One by one, his mother, father, seventeen brothers and sisters, and two police officers march up the stairs to command silence. Each time, Mortimer agrees to be good, only to erupt back into song the moment the door closes. Eventually, the adults get into a loud argument on the stairs about whose turn it is to go up, and the rhythmic noise of their bickering acts as a lullaby that finally puts Mortimer to sleep.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
Why do you think Mortimer kept singing even after he promised to be quiet?
2
The police officers came to the house because of the noise. How do you think they felt when Mortimer started singing again?
3
At the end of the story, Mortimer finally falls asleep. What was it that actually helped him drift off?
4
If you were Mortimer's brother or sister, what would you have done to help him stay quiet?
