Just One More Sleep: All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait... and Wait... and Wait

Giddy expectation fills the pages of this anticipatory holiday bonanza from previous collaborators Curtis and Cornell (Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born). After a birthday eve yields to present-opening, the title’s brown-skinned, freckle-nosed protagonist reassures: “When it’s all over, then I have to wait/ another whole year for more cake on my plate./ Lucky for me there are so many days/ that make waiting worth it in all sorts of ways.” Leading on from the titular refrain, rhyming lines that employ the phrase “just one more sleep” detail a year of major holidays, from Chinese New Year to Kwanzaa and beyond, as well as noting milestones such as camp and the start of school. Busy, sometimes spattered watercolors with sketchy outlines supply an unrestrained energy: children of varied skin tones make breakfast in a Mother’s Day scene, while a New Year’s moment communicates a satisfied exhaustion. It’s a raucous celebration of celebration, and a reminder that good things can be worth the wait. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)