Rating: 
Summary: CRUCIAL element of my 2-year-old's bedtime routine
Review: Here's the routine: jammies, brush and floss, Bed Bed Bed, lights out. Every night, like clockwork. In fact, the only way I can get her to stop fooling around with the toothbrush is to say, "Let's go listen to Bed, Bed, Bed!" And she hops down from her stool and runs on tiptoes to her room shouting "BED BED BED BED BED BED BED BED BED BED BED BED BED!" When I start the CD, she alternates between studying the pictures in the book very carefully and dancing wildly. She calms down a bit at Idylwild (her favorite song?), and at the end of the fourth song she says "Night night time" and curls up with her pillow and doll. THAT'S IT! Is that amazing or what! Yeah, I'm a TMBG fan, but this CD/book isn't about me and my interest in TMBG, it's not about being a great work of art, it's about the MIRACLE of getting my daughter to go to bed without a fuss.
Rating:
Summary: TMBG rox my sox
Review: I am 21 years old and I just saw They Might Be Giants in one of their in-store performance and signing sessions. I'm a huge fan and I have been since I was 12. Yes, this is by all means a children's book, but it's enjoyable for anyone at all. The illustrations are perfectly in tune with TMBG's quirky style. The included CD really makes the book worthwhile, as the lyrics sometimes don't have the rhythm on paper that they do in song. I especially enjoyed The Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson singing the title song, as her voice is very soothing. As you listen to the CD and follow along with the book, it's very difficult to not smile and feel like a kid again. I fully recommend this to fans, kids, and those who are looking to see what TMBG are all about.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun bedtime book
Review: I am a big TMBG fan. I thought this would be perfect for my 2 1/2 year-old daughter so I got it as a Christmas present this year. She loves it. So far we have read and listened to it every night since she got it. Nice job, John and John.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for TMBG fans, not sure kids will like it
Review: I love They Might Be Giants. I love love love them. I've been listening to their music for more than 15 years, and it's been very exciting to hear their music evolve over that time. Their foray into the world of children's entertainment has been exciting for me, since I'm a children's-book junkie. But while I think the "No!" family CD hits the mark, the Johns' "children's book," "Bed Bed Bed" is a bit off. The design and illustrations are beautiful, of course. TMBG is known for their cutting-edge taste in designers almost as much as for their music, and so the design and illustrations of the book are bound to catch a child's attention and hold it for a bit. The text of the book, however, is just song lyrics, and I'm of the opinion that song lyrics generally don't make good reading -- without the music, at least half (if not more) of the experience is missing. And TMBG lyrics are so typically strange, you really do need the music to complete the context. Of course, the book was meant to be read along with the enclosed four-song CD, and I do think the book is rather pointless without the CD. I take issue, however, with the recasting of the book's title song as a "lullaby." This plodding, tuneless version of the song would put anybody to sleep, in the hope of getting away from Kimya Dawson's monotonous voice. They may have done better to kick off the book and CD with the march-like, sound-effects studded version of "Bed Bed Bed" as it's featured on the "No!" album, and saved the floating, lovely "Idlewild" for the closing lullaby. Last week I attended one of TMBG's "family concerts," and it was pretty clear that the "No!" album is building a very young sector in the TMBG listening audience. There's a lot to love about the "No!" disc, with its upbeat songs and fun animations. The "Bed Bed Bed" book and CD, while a beautiful package, is less accessible. I do hope the Johns will give children's publishing another shot!
Rating:
Summary: Right on Target
Review: I married a rabid They Might Be Giants fan, and it took me awhile to appreciate the music. However, I will say I love No! and Bed, Bed, Bed. My 3-year-old son loves it too. He flips through the Bed,Bed, Bed book over and over again while listening to his "Gaints." He loves how crazy and fanciful the whole thing is. I mean who else writes a song about a hippie cat who writes valentines. We can't help but all dance to it, but by the time the cd ends, our boy is settled in with his curtains drawn ready for bed. I think the more times you read and listen to the book, the more you come to appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Right on Target
Review: I married a rabid They Might Be Giants fan, and it took me awhile to appreciate the music. However, I will say I love No! and Bed, Bed, Bed. My 3-year-old son loves it too. He flips through the Bed,Bed, Bed book over and over again while listening to his "Gaints." He loves how crazy and fanciful the whole thing is. I mean who else writes a song about a hippie cat who writes valentines. We can't help but all dance to it, but by the time the cd ends, our boy is settled in with his curtains drawn ready for bed. I think the more times you read and listen to the book, the more you come to appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: In a word, sweet (and I mean that in a good way)
Review: I've been a fan of the Brooklyn-based musical duo They Might Be Giants for a little over a year, ever since I received a copy of Dial-A-Song, a 2-CD anthology pulling together 52 tracks from their 20-year career, as an early Christmas present in 2002. I immediately fell in love with their unique brand of witty, intelligent, and eclectic alternative-pop, and over the course of 2003 I collected as much of their work as I could -- studio albums, solo records, a rarities collection, a live album, a DVD of their videos, a recent documentary about them (2003's Gigantic), and even their 2002 children's album NO! Which brings me to their first book, Bed Bed Bed. As with the NO! album, since I'm in my mid-'20s and I don't have kids myself, it's easier for me to look at this book in terms of TMBG product rather than in terms of kid-friendly product. That said, it's an impressive product even by TMBG's typically high standards. I've lately noticed a kiddie-lit trend wherein popular songs (such as "I Hope You Dance") are simply made into books, but TMBG have gone beyond that. In addition to putting the NO! track "Bed Bed Bed" into storybook form, they've written three story-songs exclusively for the purpose of this project. (These four stories, which TMBG have set to music and put on a disc that comes with this book, will be discussed in detail below.) The illustrations by Canadian artist Marcel Dzama are quirky and strangely beautiful, like much of TMBG's music. Here are the story-songs, in the order that they are presented in the book and on the disc:
1) "Impossible" -- This story offers the inspiring message that you can become whatever you want if you believe in yourself. The song is an upbeat synth-pop number mostly sung by TMBG's keyboard/accordion-player John Linnell in his distinctive nasal twang. Guitar-playing bandmate John Flansburgh puts on a Paul McCartney-esque British accent to sing one of the later verses, and Flansburgh's wife Robin Goldwasser (who sang "In the Middle" on NO!) lends her sweet vocals to another verse.
2) "Happy Doesn't Have to Have an Ending" -- This just a fun story about a "long-haired hippie kitten" spreading a message of love and encouraging people to enjoy life. The song has Flansburgh showing off his funky side (not unlike the NO! tracks "John Lee Supertaster" and "Clap Your Hands"), with touches of hip-hop in the intro and outro.
3) "Idlewild" -- The story is a "dream of a perfect day" (as Flansburgh once put it) that involves going to a carnival and taking a ride on a skywriting plane. The song is a beautiful, mellow folk-pop number sung by the versatile, sweet-voiced Flansburgh.
4) "Bed, Bed, Bed, Bed, Bed" -- In this story, a tired-but-happy kid marvels over the full day he (or she) has had before turning in for the night. Originally a bouncy, Beatle-esque number sung by Linnell on NO!, the tune has been radically reworked into a ballad and is now sung by Kimya Dawson (of Moldy Peaches fame); her appropriately sleepy vocals are a sweet surprise. Overall, the whole package is incredibly sweet (even the "about the authors" piece), and it's clear that a lot of care went into it. Kudos to everyone involved -- especially Flansburgh and Goldwasser, who don't have any children themselves but still bring as much enthusiasm to this project as they brought to the NO! album. (Linnell has a son, to whom the book is dedicated.) Even though I'm not exactly in the target audience for Bed Bed Bed, I find this project to be very much in line with They Might Be Giants' friendly and creative spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Love it, oh . . . and my daughter likes it too.
Review: Many of us Giants fans are now introducing John's and John's genius to our children. Their new crop of kid friendly products is just what we need to bring our progeny into the fold. The CD has some "kiddy" versions of NO songs and some other ditties, all good. My daughter loves the book! It delivers as a bed time read. Just weird enough, just hypnotizing enough.
Rating:
Summary: Good Good Good!
Review: My latest purchase is Bed, Bed, Bed, a children's book by one of my favorite bands, They Might Be Giants. It's a great book, with an accompanying four song CD of music designed to help children fall asleep. This project came to fruition after the amazing success of TMBG's children's CD NO! Check them out, you will not be disappointed, they offer so many free mp3s and they even have a clock radio for your computer which has three different stations of streaming TMBG music!
Rating:
Summary: A new bedtime fave!
Review: Our 2 boys (3 and 7) are big TMBG fans. They love No!, saw the children's show in NYC last spring, and enjoy all the songs on Dial-A-Song CDs. Our TiVo recorded TMBG on Conan when they performed No!/Clap Your Hands - we haven't deleted yet and it's still frequently requested (and danced to!). So needless to say, when we heard about Bed, Bed, Bed we were very excited - and we weren't disappointed! The kids aside, I really love "Impossible" - a great song and wonderfully illustrated in the book. This book and CD are now part of our bed time routine. The songs are perfectly ordered to get things slowed down and everyone ready for slumber (except last night when our 3 year old couldn't stop dancing - note to self: no more chocolate milk at dinner!). We highly recommend this book/CD and have already picked it out for several holiday gifts.
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