Down in the Woods at Sleepytime - Hardcover

Carole Lexa Schaefer says DOWN IN THE WOODS AT SLEEPYTIME was inspired "by all my friends at Little Friends Preschool who like to play just a little bit longer—even at sleepytime."

Vanessa Cabban says, "I wanted to suggest that bedtime can be the best time of day—by creating pictures that make children feel safe and warm, helping them drift from the excitement of play to the coziness of their beds."

PreSchool-Grade 1-"Deep down in the woods," mother animals are saying, "It's sleepytime," but bear cubs want to play, hedgehog babies are still hungry, bunnies are peek-a-booing, and toadlets are making up songs. When wise Grandma Owl hoots, "It's storytime," the little ones settle in for her tale of baby animals drifting off to sleep. This beautifully atmospheric picture book benefits from gentle, often alliterative text: hedgehogs "snuffle for snacks in the mossy grass," and rabbits "hip-hop, they hide under fat, green leaves." Schaefer's words are soothing even as they describe boisterous play, and are a perfect accompaniment to the jewel-toned pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. A sweeping double-page panorama of the woods in late afternoon opens the book, and a nighttime view of the scene appears at the end. In between, the pictures merge from golden-touched greens to blues and purples as the night descends upon the forest. Cabban's animals are extremely expressive, from the mischievous grins of the playful bear cubs to the look of utter contentment on Mama Toad's face as she proudly listens to her children sing. An ideal bedtime story.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.