An Examination of Children's Books and Picture Books
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Picture book Analsysis-Tedd Arnold's "No Jumping on the Bed"

Beyond simply being fun and whimsical which are indeed very important aspects of a children's book Arnold's "No Jumping on the Bed" is domestically this is one of the more important picture books created. For its cover page is that of a father still in his sweater vest and necktie reading to his son who is excited by something on the page. It is rare for fairy tales and picture books to portray men as domestically inclined fathers, so rare that many who read this book wonder where the mother is, for it seems to be the father who is putting the boy Walter to bed. This provides a good and rare oppertunity in children's literature for parents to explain that the father loves his son and so likes to read to him, and make sure he is comfterable for bed.
This warmness in the first picture helps the next set of pictures in which Walters father tells him to not to jump on the bed. Scolding certainly is one of the sterio types of fatherhood but in this case it was made ok because it was already established that the father was putting his son to bed. This is how such sterio types are avoided, by establishing both roles for people what they do is reasonably explained, and Arnold does it so well it is barley noticeable.
Walter for his part pretends to go to sleep at this point but being a little child he decides once his father is gone that if his friend can jump on beds so can he. And so it is that he falls through the floor and into appartment after appartment of those who live below him.
The pictures in this book are very fun and I would recomend highly that you look over them with your child, for each has many fun and silly elements to them. The laughter and excitment of this book at this point are purhaps the most important part of this book.
After falling through a number of neighbors appartments Walter finds himself having fallen into wakefullness in his own bed, it was just a dream.
However as he lays back to go to sleep again his friend comes crashing through the ceiling, he after all was jumping on the bed.