Product Description

During the day, the boy has been to the zoo where he has seen a lion and her cub. As nighttime falls, the boy and his father share a book. It's the boy's bedtime, but the boy is not sleepy. He is still with the lions. Sleepy Boy is a lovely hymn from a new author -- a hymn to day and to night, to awake and to asleep, to mother and child, to father and son.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44504 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689867354
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
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, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* K-Gr. 2. Simple, physical words and full-page, unframed, sepia-toned watercolor-and-charcoal images combine to create a portrait of blissful intimacy between a toddler and his father as they snuggle together in bed. The minute details tell it all. The child is sleepy, but he can't sleep. His father smooths the boy's hair in an unforgettable image, long, tender fingers touching his head. The boy's ear presses "against the smooth, cool / surface of a button"; it's so quiet the child "listens to his hair / scraping against the pillowcase." In the comfort and security of his father's embrace, the boy remembers the lion cub he saw at the zoo, and the baby lion is part of what he imagines as he feels his father's "scratchy chin." With an exquisite blend of reality and lion-cub images on the edge of dream, this book is a lovely choice for fathers and children to share. Connect it with Margaret Wise Brown's Good Night Moon. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"There is art and craft, both verbal and visual, in this very quiet bedtime story. Unusual and captivating."

-- Kirkus Review, starred reveiw

"With its exquisite artwork and mesmerizing text, this bedtime book is simply enchanting."

-- Publisher's Weekly, starred review

Customer Reviews

the perfect bedtime book
There's something about the text that just makes my son sleepy! And no matter who reads it, he is either out or well on his way by the end of the book. The only problem I have with the book is that my son always questions the illustrations, which mingle the tigers from the zoo with the boy's bedtime routine. So, for example, my son always wants to know why there is a tiger cub in the bathroom when the kid's mom is brushing her teeth. But if you don't mind stopping the story to explain (on every page) why there is a tiger cub in the house than this is the ultimate bedtime book.

too indepth for toddlers
I've found this too indepth for toddlers-- concepts are too deep, although a nice read for an adult.

It's all about imagrey!
Wow! This book may be a book to read for many years. Superbly written and the illustrations are awesome. There is more than the read story as in there is also an implied story. Happy reading!