Emily Writes, blogger and editor of The Spinoff Parents, has released her second book, ‘Is it Bedtime Yet?’
The new book is a collaborative effort with submissions from New Zealand parents – some bloggers, some writers, some new to print, but all with a story to tell. ‘Is it Bedtime Yet?’ brings together the village that raises our kids and shares those insights for laughs, giggles and heartfelt tears.
Written by Emily Writes and friends
Published by Penguin Random House
Buy at www.penguin.co.nz
The short story format of ‘Is It Bedtime Yet?’ means that you can pick it up for a five minute perusal during your three-times-reheated cup of coffee or you can snuggle under the duvet for a more indepth read whilst the little ones are tucked up in their beds.
What’s the book about?
This is no “here’s how you should parent” kind of book. It’s more of a “here’s why we love being parents” kind of book … with a good dose of sarcasm, truth and hilarity. There’s no judgement here, just the sharing of stories from the parenting trenches.
Whilst Emily Writes contributes to a good portion of the book with her matter-of-fact, witty and insightful dialogue about being a parent, the book also includes submissions from a host of other contributors, delivering a well-rounded view of raising kids in Aotearoa.
Reading the ‘Story of a Mum (who tried her best but needed a rest)’ by Eliza Prestidge Oldfield, is like reliving numerous days of being a mum to a toddler. It’s a tale of glitter … so much glitter!
There’s “useful” information (I feel that those quotation marks aren’t portraying the sarcasm strong enough!), like the tongue-in-cheek ‘essential list of essential essentials for your new baby’, and tips for getting your baby to sleep – or rather tips for accepting that you will never sleep again.
There’s also some heart-rending passages. Francesca Jones’ recollection of the birth of her daughter will cause you to pause and catch your breath. The dialogue from Jessie Moss shares the importance of a diagnosis, no matter how traumatic.
Midway through the book I came across ‘Parenting Confessions’ with oh-so-honest admissions of stuff that probably plenty of us have done, or at least considered, for a slightly easier parenting life. Like bribing kids to behave in public or hiding away those annoyingly noisy toys.
Above all ‘Is It Bedtime Yet?’ is a celebration of the truth about parenting, written with humour and heart.
Who should read it?
Everyone who has ever had a child, or thinking about having a child, or was a child … But seriously, ‘Is It Bedtime Yet?’ is a book that you will return to again and again for both inspiration and entertainment. You don’t have to read it cover to cover, chapter by chapter. Instead engage with the book kind of like how you should approach parenting – one moment of joy at a time between nappy changes and feeding routines.
Review by Julie Scanlon, Editor for Kidspot NZ
Read more on Kidspot:
30 April, 2026
I’m excited to read this as I’ve read her Rants in the Dark book as it had me in stitches and I even took photos of certain pages to send to my fellow moms. I just missed her when she visited our local library. But I definitely would be in my list of books to read – maybe this would be just the perfect read during our family break during the Labour Weekend.
This sounds like a great book to read. I think often as parents we get bogged down with the day to day grind and often find ourselves wondering ‘are other parents going through this too?’. To read a book that has stories from other parents, along with some light hearted humour, sounds like the kind of book I will look to read.
I would love to read this book. It sounds like it would be easy to read and I love the real stories it has. I would also like to read her first book too.
Emily Writes is an amazing writer aka blogger.I remember reading her first book and being unable to put it down it so this excites me there is another awesome sounding one from her.ill deff be entering the competition. I like how there are various people that contributed to the book and that its written in short story forget to the end of a chapter before bookmarking it.
This sounds like a fantastic read! I have heard only positive things about Emily Writes and I’m looking forward to reading one of her books sometime soon. I enjoy a bit of humour in regard to sometimes heavy topics 😛
This sounds like a brilliant read, sounds like it has some truth to it which is always a good laugh. We love our kids so much but it isn’t always roses. Will have to add this to my library list.
Love stuff like this – it is so good to laugh really hard at things like this. Soooo many of us Mum’s can relate!! We all definitely need to laugh more! I’m going to have a look at it 🙂
This book sounds like a great read! Lots of laughs and heart warming bits, I think that I would enjoy this book!
I think this book sounds great to read these sort of books as they are interesting and relate to real life it would be good to give to people with a new baby as well. When you have a baby you want to hear the real aspects not the fake make up ones.
This sounds like a great funny read. I might have to get this one out from the library once I finish my study course at present. It sounds interesting but yet put into great context.
Oh cool. It sounds like a fun read. I enjoy books that are full of little stories, and anecdotes. It’s like a little glimpse into someone else’s life. I think I’d really enjoy this book.