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.

The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney

Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion & the Mouse. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009. 40 pages. $16.99, ISBN 978-0-316-01356-7

AGE LEVEL
1 and 2 year-olds

GENRE
Traditional Literature (Fable)

REVIEW
Anyone who is not a fan of Aesop already is fairly likely to experience a change of heart after reading Pinkney's amazing Caldecott Award-winning rendition of "The Lion and the Mouse".  To start off with, every sketched and painted inch of lion, mouse, and landscape is beautifully multi-tonal in golds, browns, grays, and greens --  a true visual extravaganza.  But perhaps the most impressive aspect of the artwork is that the animals aren't caricatures; they are depicted as authentic creatures, along with the ambiguity that comes with this.  For example, when the lion decides to let the mouse go toward the beginning of the fable, one can literally see the mixed feelings in his eyes, and something more: the inscrutable nature of wild animals that prevents us from knowing exactly what his expression means.  The story is wordless except for a few animals sounds, such as the lion's "Grrr" and the mouse's "squeak".  True to the original fable, the mouse later remembers her debt to the lion, coming to his aid when he is caught by hunters.  For the beauty and accuracy of its illustrations of wild animals, and the way in which it highlights the potential for greatness in even the smallest and most unexpected of us -- whether this be the mouse's courage in initially approaching the lion, the lion's magnanimity in letting the mouse go, or the mouse's integrity in honoring her debt -- this book is very highly recommended for age 1 and up.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Due to the fact that Pinkney's drawings are very accurate in their depictions of wild animals, this book is the perfect lead-in to presenting some nonfiction books on mice and lions at toddler storytime