Book Review: So Sleepy Story
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know nothing objectionable is presented in
this gentle, comforting picture book. Some may find the shadowy
depictions of the sleepy world a bit dark and creepy, but most
will think them dreamy and artistic.
Families can talk about how it feels to go to sleep at night, how it feels to wake up when everyone else is asleep, and what kinds of sounds can be heard when the rest of the world is quiet. They might talk about dreams or bedtime routines. They could also talk about color and music: what colors or sounds are sleepy, which are active and awake?
Common Sense Media Review
Soft sounding words and whimsical drawings create a
comforting nighttime world in this wonderfully artistic book.
Kids will enjoy the gentle repetition of simple language and
alliterative sounds coupled with drawings reminiscent of Mother
Goose books.
Kids will also enjoy the message: Even when the boy in the story is awakened by music floating through his window, he isn't jarred, but just listens until the music drifts away. This book might help reassure kids who are having trouble with their own nighttime sleep.
The playful and original illustrations carry the plot, which is more poem than story. Clever details fill the pages, and color shifts to show the sleeping world as opposed to the awakening one. In the sleeping world, dishes, toys, and even the portraits on the walls doze in a room colored with dark tones of purple and blue. The moon glows in the darkness of the night and casts a yellow beam here and there.
As the music drifts in the window, the world changes. Simple black notes turn to jazz-playing musicians and the colors of the world brighten with them. Soon all is bright and the pages are filled with dancing, smiling chairs and dishes. Even the moon and the drapes are smiling.
Then, just as calmly, the notes drift back out the window, leaving behind the soft echoes of color and sound. Tones are muted and the pages are again drenched in blues and purple; the moon glows but sleeps in the background.
This book is playful and fun yet gentle and soothing -- a great choice for a bedtime story.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
