Chloe the Calm in The Bedtime Blues (Team Supercrew Series)

Chloe the Calm in The Bedtime Blues is a book in the Team Supercrew Series. It is described as “a children’s book about feelings and emotions, staying calm, and boisterous bedtimes!”. The subject is commandable and even more so the idea that supports it. I absolutely love the idea of using superheroes to help children find their best inside of them. Maybe it is because it is my way of thinking. There absolutely IS a superhero inside each of us. And the sooner you can inculcate that mindset into a child, the better. And what great way this amazingly produced book series.does it.

As a grown up, I read the whole book without a problem. I think a child would only have minor issues with the words if any at all. The structure is also sound. The paragraphs are short and to the point so it is easy to follow. I love that Miko calls on Chloe even though I am not convinced by the way she does it or the way she reacts to her favourite superhero showing up. 

My problem is the conversation. The exchange reads unnatural at times. The reasons that Chloe gives for persuading Miko to go to bed are “what ifs”. In the way that Chloe is feeling and the mood she is in (“There’s no way I’m going to bed right now”), I would easily argue that “what ifs” can easily be challenged. It feels like she accepts the argument (or lack thereof) because Chloe is a superhero she admires not because she is convincing, and to me, that is a problem. Chloe, even as a superhero, is still a stranger. Admiration should never be a substitute for logic. That encourages a celebrity blind-following mentality. A superhero is human after all. I don’t feel that her superpower of calmness, which should have been the magic here, is showcased anywhere near enough. Mentioning a “let me breathe in and out” in passing felt more like a checked box. It should have been used to help calm Miko and help her focus so she can then express the actual problem.

Children do not want to sleep for many reasons, some of which are:

• they don’t want to miss out on the fun happening: although children generally are, nothing in these premises show a reason for that. This would be more the case if she knew her friends were having a sleepover and she was not invited, or maybe her favourite aunt came to visit and she could not stay up with her
• they have consumed too much sugar or equivalent: nothing suggests this here
• they are anxious, afraid or excited about something that is coming up: The mother mentioning “the ballet recital” would suggest so

This is what the book should have concentrated on and Chloe should have helped calmed: the excitement of the upcoming recital. In spite of the illustration and the words suggesting so, the story flow shows no reason for anger and therefore no real substance for convincing Miko not to be