If Sandra Boynton Was My Mom (a Children's Story)

If Sandra Boynton was my Mom
My best friend woud be a piggie named Tom

All of my friends would be hippos and cows
Sheep and horses and dogs, bow wow

I’d live in a boat and get ready for bed
With my animal friends, all in my head

We’d brush our teeth with bubblegum paste
Swish it around for extra taste

With polka dot wash clothes we’d scrub our faces
Careful to get all the hard to reach places

“Remember to scrub behind your ears!”
“Hurry along now like good little dears.”

And then we’d all put on pajamas
Except of course for the purple llamas

They don’t like to wear PJ’s
They sleep in their clothes they wore all day

Then off to bed we all would go
All of us marching in a row

We all climb in beneath the sheets
Our soft white pillows nothing beats

All tucked in, we close our eyes
To go to sleep, it’s beddy byes.


(Copyright Matt Ballard 2011)

Sandra Boynton is one of the best authors of children's stories ever.  Her wonderful stories and playful drawings have charmed millions of children (and parents too!)  Whether it’s Bath Time! in the tub or The Going To Bed Book at bedtime, there’s a Sandra Boynton story for every occasion.  Why there’s even one for a Barnyard Dance!

I recently bought the APP version of BOO MA LA LA LA for my iPad, and I think my wife and I have had more fun with it than my children have.  It’s so well done, and so much fun!  I’d love to have my children’s stories available as such wonderful apps.

If you can’t tell by now, Sandra Boynton is one of my literary heroes.  I love her work, and my kids can’t get enough of it too.  As a parent, I appreciate her books and love them for the smiles and enjoyment they bring my kids.  As a writer of children’s stories myself, Sandra Boynton gives me inspiration and a goal to aim for.  She sets the bar high, and I can only hope to come close to her level of achievement.  

One of the things that I think especially endears me to Sandra Boynton is that she writes and illustrates all her children's stories.  Not a lot of authors who write children's stories do this.  Most write the stories and have someone else illustrate them.  Since I too do my own illustrations for my children's stories, I think that’s part of why I hold Sandra Boynton in such high esteem.  I know first hand how much more work it is to do both the writing and the illustrating when it comes to children's stories, and it’s harder still to do both as well as Sandra Boynton does!

I wrote the short piece story at the beginning of this post as a little tribute to Sandra Boynton.  I hope it brings a smile to those of you who’s families love Sandra Boynton as much as mine does.