Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney is a great rhyming bedtime story and is the first in the Llama Llama series. We received our copy from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL). In case you have not heard of DPIL before, it sends free books each month to children ages 0 – 5 registered with their program. They send out millions of books each year! If you have not signed your child up for this program, I highly recommend it as we have received some great books and it’s completely free! Follow this link (not a sponsor) to check for availability in your area.

In this story, Mama Llama puts Llama Llama to bed and like every other child who has ever existed, Llama Llama waits seventeen minutes and then calls for his mama to come back. He tries his best to wait for his mama, but he gets inpatient and starts yelling for his mama, which causes his concerned mother to dash upstairs to his bedroom.

This is where other children’s books get it wrong. Llama Llama has exhibited some poor behavior, but instead of glossing over this like in Giddy-Up Buckaroos! or glorifying misbehavior like in Cookiesaurus Rex (which I reviewed in my previous post), when his mother arrives and realizes nothing is wrong she explains to him that sometimes Mama is busy and he has to wait. She reassures him that this does not mean that Mama does not love him and that she is always nearby if he needs her. Mama Llama tucks Llama Llama back in bed and he goes to sleep.

Our little one always wants her mama to lay her down for the night, but lately, she will wait around for a while and then call for her to come back. However, I swoop in and when my child persists for her mama I explain to her that her mother is busy, but Daddy is here. It only took one or two times for her to learn to be content with her Daddy when Mama is busy (even when it is not bedtime) and I like to think this book helped as a teaching tool.

Pros	Cons
Bright and distinct colors	None
Rhyming
Healthy parent-child relationship
Teaches about patience

Breakdown
Current Price	$8.99
Duration	2:00 – 2:30
Highest Syllable Word	3 (pajama)
Contractions Used	6 (Mama’s, she’ll, isn’t, Llama’s, don’t, she’s)