Purchase a physical copy of Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream! here: https://www.mommydaddyihadabaddream.com/product/mommy-daddy-i-had-a-bad-dream/
Description: Fun4theDisabled presents “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!”
-[George the Puppet] Hello, I’m George, and I’m here to say welcome to our fun show for the day. Fun4theDisabled is here to present Children’s Books That Heal, a cool new event. Today’s book is called “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” by Martha Heineman Pieper, illustrations by Joe Gershman. This is a super fun book as we meet Joey, who is a bouncy kangaroo who had a few bad dreams. He learned to make sense of his dreams with the help of his parents. And now, here’s Vanessa to introduce our reader for today.
-[Vanessa] Thanks George! I’m so excited to share this story with you today. Today, actress Becky Curran Kekula will be reading the book called “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” written by Martha Heineman Pieper, PhD, with illustrations by Joe Gershman. Joey the Kangaroo is the main character of this book as he learns to process his series of bad dreams. From feeling a lot of fear and confusion, to finally finding comfort in knowing his own power and control with his dreams, this is a fun and relatable book. Now let’s give it up for today’s actress, Becky Curran Kekula.
-[Becky] My name is Becky Curran Kekula and I’m going to read “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” Joey was a happy little kangaroo who loved to bounce into bed, listen to stories with his baby sister, Jilly, have a big cuddle, and go to sleep with Clarissa, his pet cuscus, and Sammy, his fuzzy green wombat. “Night, night, Joey. Sweet dreams. We love you!” “Night, night!” But one night, Joey had a bad dream. “No apples and honey for three days.” “But that’s my favorite dessert!” Joey bounced straight into his parent’s room. “Mommy, Daddy, I had a terrible dream! The judge said no apples with honey for three whole days! Why would I have such a bad dream?” “Let’s think about it,” Daddy said. “Dreams are stories we tell ourselves for a reason. We just have to understand the reason. Are you upset about something that happened today?” Joey thought. “Well, I was really mad when Mommy wouldn’t play because she had to feed Jilly. I wish my baby sister would go away!” Mommy cuddled Joey. “You know, all children feel angry when a little sister or brother takes Mommy’s and Daddy’s attention. You can be angry and still love us at the same time! Maybe you were worried about feeling angry. That’s why you told yourself that dream where the judge was punishing you.” Joey nodded. “Hmmm, I see.” “Could you go back to sleep now?” “Yes!” said Joey. A few weeks later… “Nighty, night. Sleep well. We hope you feel better. We love you!” “Nighty, night. Sniffle, sniffle.” That night, Joey had a bad dream. “Let me in, let me in! Why won’t you open the door?” “Mommy, Daddy, I had a bad dream that you wouldn’t let me in! I am very upset!” “That was a bad dream!” said Daddy. “It sounds scary.” “I hate these terrible dreams,” said Joey. “It was horrible!” Mommy asked, “Did anything upset you yesterday?” “I was too sick to go to Kenny Koala’s birthday party. I wanted to slide down on my tail like all of my friends. I was really sad that I missed it. It’s not fair!” Daddy asked, “Did you feel locked out of the party by your cold? Do you think that’s why you dreamed you were locked out of the house?” Joey thought. “Yes…but why didn’t you let me in?” Mommy gave Joey a big hug. “Children think their parents can do anything. Maybe you thought we could zap your cold away so you could go to the party.” “Joey, no matter how much we love you,” Daddy added, “we can’t make your cold go away like magic, even though we wish we could.” “So in my dream, I told myself that you were keeping me out, even though it was the cold,” nodded Joey. “Are you ready for us to tuck you into bed?” asked Mommy. “Yes, I am,” Joey smiled. “Nighty, night. We love you.” A few weeks later… “I don’t want to go to bed!” “Nighty, night. We love you.” “Hmmph.” That night, Joey dreamed that he grew and grew and grew and played all night long. “Daddy, I want a REAL hug!” “Daddy, can I have a hug? I had a dream which was good because I was so big I could do anything I wanted, but then it was terrible because I was too big for a hug.” Mommy asked, “Can you think of something to explain that dream?” Joey thought. “Well, I had to go to bed even though I didn’t want to, and if I were big you couldn’t make me.” Daddy said, “You figured it out. Joey, that’s terrific. Right now, even though you are too small to stay up late, you are the perfect size for lots of hugs and snuggles.” “Nighty, night. We love you.” A few weeks later… “Nighty, night. Sleep well. We love you!” “Nighty, night.” “Clarissa, where are you?! Come back. Should I run to Mommy and Daddy for a hug? Clarissa, you’re right here! Why would I dream you were missing? Let’s think about today. I was playing with Kenny. We couldn’t agree on what game to play, and he left.” “I don’t want to play with you anymore. I’m going home!” “I was upset because Kenny left, so I dreamed that you left me too, Clarissa. That’s it! Now we can go back to sleep. Night, night, Clarissa.” The next morning, Joey bounced into the kitchen. “Mommy, Daddy, I had a bad dream last night, bit I figured out why and I went back to sleep and had a good dream!” “Joey, great job!” “Nighty, night.”
-[Vanessa] Thank you actress Becky Curran Kekula for that reading. I think we can all relate to Joey as we may have had bad dreams in the past. But I hope we can all feel empowered knowing that we are the author of our own lives. Kids, I hope you enjoyed this story and can think about it the next time you might have a bad dream. I also hope that you can feel empowered like Joey and find comfort in that. Parents, this is a great book to show your kids if they are feeling confused by dreams at night. If you have any thoughts to share, please put them in the comment section below. Thank you once again, Becky Curran Kekula for reading “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” by Martha Heineman Pieper, PhD, with illustrations by Joe Gershman. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our newsletter and check out more of our Fun4theDisabled Presents: Children’s Books that Heal series. Take it away, George! Bye bye!
-[George the Puppet] Thanks for watching “Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream!” by Martha Heineman Pieper, illustrations by Joe Gershman. Now it’s okay to need a hug. Bad dreams aren’t something to be afraid of because you are the author of your life and you rule each and every night. Don’t fear what you dreamt, find comfort and peace in self-empowerment. Because you’re strong, so don’t be shy. And hey, thanks for stopping by. [Dreamy acoustic guitar]
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