Sleepy Boy
PreSchool-K A child has trouble falling asleep. Although his father lies beside him, holding him and calming him, all of the boy's senses are alert. He sees his own nose blurry and giant and the dusty, golden color of a nearby lamp. He hears his mother in the bathroom singing and hums along, …so low, he thinks it sounds like breathing. He feels his father's scratchy chin and soft, papery shirt. The text progresses quietly, lyrically in a tone that is sensuous, soothing, and thoughtful. Throughout the narrative, the boy also thinks about the lions he saw during a visit to the zoo earlier that day, remembering how a cub was washed and fed. His self-association with the animal is wonderfully expressed in the watercolor-and-charcoal artwork, which presents the two of them as counterparts. The evocative, photo-quality paintings are luscious and sophisticated. A soft, tawny glow envelopes each picture, be it of the child, sweetly curled in his father's arms, or the cub, roaming the room, gazing out the window, or playing with the boy's shoes. Readers see the feline reflected in the youngster's eye, or perched beside the mother's sink, reaching out to play with the running water. This beautiful book is a stellar collaboration with a fully sustained vision; it will move, enrich, and challenge children.Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.