''Ten in the Bed'' is a picture book for young children, written and illustrated by

Penny Dale Penny Dale (born 1954 in London) is an English illustrator and writer of children's books. Background Dale studied Fine Arts and graduated from Exeter College of Art and Design. She moved to South East Wales in 1982, and currently resides in ...

and published in 1988 by Walker Books. It is an adaptation of the well-known counting

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

of the same name. The familiar refrain "roll over!" is intact, but it features one central child character and their nine soft toys, instead of the ten children implied in the original.

Adaptation

In 2018, comedian and actor Rob Delaney read and signed ''Ten in the Bed'' in

Makaton Makaton is a communication tool together with speech and symbols, to enable people with disabilities or learning disabilities to communicate. It is not a British Sign Language (BSL) or any form of Sign Language in its own right. Makaton supports ...

, a particular form of sign language. Broadcast on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

children’s channel CBeebies, it was the first of their regular bedtime stories series to use the language, which Delaney had learnt to communicate with his late son. Producer Claire Taylor described the feedback as "overwhelming", and said plans were in the works for more signed stories.

Legacy

''Ten in the Bed'' won the

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award ''The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio'' is a nationally recognized independent consumer review of children's media. It was founded in 1989 by child development authors Joanne Oppenheim and her daughter Stephanie Oppenheim. The newsletter is published quart ...

in 2002. It was followed by sequels ''Ten Out of Bed'' and ''Ten Play Hide and Seek''. In 2014, the Birmingham Mail noted the book was number 48 in Birmingham’s most borrowed library books. According to the 25th anniversary edition, it has sold “almost 2 million copies".

Notes and references

1988 children's books British picture books British children's books Walker Books books {{Child-book-stub