Sleepy Boy, by Polly Kanevsky

Kanevsky, Polly. Sleepy Boy. Illustrated by Stephanie Anderson. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. 32 pages. $15.95, ISBN 978-0689867354

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW 
A little boy has had a full day, including a visit to the zoo, and is having trouble falling asleep.  He has gone through all the bedtime rituals, but still cannot somehow close his eyes and head off to dreamland.  In almost every charcoal and watercolor illustration we see a small lion cub lingering, hinting at the great impression that the day had on the boy.  The boy's father interacts tenderly with him, holding him and stroking his hair as he coaxes him to sleep.  This book is recommended for the way in which its illustrations and text create a calming atmosphere conducive to encouraging sleep in children.  Even though the illustrations could perhaps contain a bit more variety, the softness of their lines is soothing.  The father's calm requests that his son just "shut one eye" and "now shut the other eye," interspersed with detailed descriptions of the sensations that the boy is feeling, come together in an almost rhythmic way that make this a good bedtime story for 3 and 4 year-olds.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
This is a good song to accompany this book at preschool storytime, as it concerns bedtime and a mother animal and her child:

          LISTEN TO THE TREE BEAR

          Listen to the tree bear,
          Crying in the night,
          Crying for his mammy
          In the pale moonlight.
         
          What will his mammy do
          When she hears him cry?
          She'll tuck him in a coco pod
          And sing a lullaby.
          She'll tuck him in a coco pod
          And sing a lullaby.