Night Buddies for Parents

Finding a book a child genuinely wants to keep reading can be its own adventure. Night Buddies is an award-winning children’s chapter-book series by Sands Hetherington featuring John Degraffenreidt and Crosley, a bright red crocodile who appears when John isn’t ready to sleep. Instead of counting sheep, the two head out on Programs, their word for adventures, filled with mysteries, strange inventions, unusual characters, humor, and plenty of after-lights-out trouble. The newest Night Buddies title is reviewed for ages 7–12, making the series a natural option for families looking for imaginative adventure stories for elementary and middle-grade readers.

Every Night Buddies story begins with a problem that sends John and Crosley out into the Borough and beyond. The details get wonderfully strange: disappearing pineapple cheesecakes, red-crocodile impostors, racing blimps, oddball gadgets, a mysterious object in the sky, and even an evil flying school bus.

• Adventure and mystery that keep the story moving.
• Humor, silliness, and a world that does not take itself too seriously.
• An ongoing friendship between John and Crosley at the center of every book.
• Imaginative gadgets, creatures, locations, and made-up Night Buddies expressions.
• Illustrations that accompany the chapter-book storytelling.
• A continuing series, so children who connect with the characters have another Program waiting.

The current fourth book, Night Buddies and Evil School Bus #264, is listed for ages 7–12 by The Children’s Book Review. Because reading ability and comfort vary widely at these ages, parents may want to look through an individual book before deciding whether it is best for independent reading or reading together.

Night Buddies also uses deliberately playful language. Crosley and other characters have their own expressions, unusual vocabulary, and intentionally unconventional speech. That wordplay is part of the series’ personality. Some readers may enjoy deciphering it independently, while others may have more fun encountering it with an adult.

The Night Buddies world grew out of bedtime storytelling between Sands Hetherington and his son, John. That family origin makes reading together a particularly natural way to experience the books.

Parents can use a shared chapter or read-aloud session as a starting point for simple conversations about imagination, friendship, problem-solving, choices, and what John and Crosley might do next.

Optional conversation starters:

• What would your own Night Buddies Program be?
• If you could invent one of Crosley’s whatchamacallits, what would it do?
• Which character would you want on your team for an adventure?
• How would you solve the mystery differently from John and Crosley?
• What do you think makes John and Crosley good friends

Friendship: John and Crosley’s partnership is the thread connecting the series, even when the adventures around them become increasingly strange.

Imagination: The Borough, Crosley’s gadgets, invented expressions, strange foods, and unusual situations invite readers into a world where ordinary nighttime rules do not apply.

Problem-Solving: Each Program gives the pair a mystery, threat, or problem they need to investigate and work through.

Humor: Silly situations, playful vocabulary, eccentric characters, and absurd problems are part of the Night Buddies style.

Adventure: The books use chases, investigations, flying machines, mysteries, and unexpected obstacles to keep John and Crosley moving.

New to Night Buddies? Begin with Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare, where John first joins Crosley on a Program to investigate the mystery of disappearing pineapple cheesecakes.