Putting the World to Sleep
The soothing cadences of cumulative verse will easily lull young readers of this beguiling bedtime book. As the text begins, "The moon climbs over the mountain each night,/ putting the world to sleep"; with each turn of the page nightfall advances just a bit more ("The crickets start singing farewell to the day/ as the moon climbs over the mountain each night..."). Debut author Thomas brings this sequence to a graceful if anticipated conclusion as a "dreamy-eyed baby yawns big and wide" and an older sister bids "Good night, world." Christensen's (An Edible Alphabet) intricately etched colored prints shows a mother and her two children, first under a darkening sky, then returning to their rural house and, finally, preparing for bed. She makes exceptional use of light-the rising moon, the steady fire by the hearth, the blaze of electricity each glow with their own subtle intensity. Ages 4-8.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.