cover image The Little Go-To-Sleep Book

The Little Go-To-Sleep Book

Juliet Harmer. Atheneum Books, $10.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-689-50386-3

""Once upon a time there was a little baby who didn't like going to bed.'' So begins a lyrical good-night book, a mother's words to her child, reminding the baby that all creatures everywhere must sleep at night. A dog curls up in his basket by the fire, mice doze underneath the floorboards in warm nests, butterflies pause in the petals of flowers. Each scene is awash with vibrant color; the pictures of the sheep, falling asleep by the light of the evening star, and of the swans, asleep high in the sky, are particularly enchanting. Not a word is wasted in this soothing story, a read-aloud that invokes the same gentle mood as Goodnight Moon. (38)