Chengdu Could Not Would Not Fall Asleep

by Barney Saltzberg, Barney Saltzberg (Illustrator)

Overview

High in his bamboo tree, a young panda named Chengdu lies awake while everyone around him is sleeping. No matter what he tries, he cannot fall asleep. He turns and he tosses. He scrunches and he rolls. He even hangs upside down. Finally he climbs up and up and up, until he finds the perfect spot atop his brother. Panda pile!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484717448
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/09/2014
Series:	Chengdu , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	52 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Barney Saltzberg (barneysaltzberg.com) is an author/illustrator/singer/songwriter who has published close to 30 children's books, including BEAUTIFUL OOPS! and CHENGDU CAN DO, a companion to this book. He studied art at Sonoma State College in Northern California and later took a class at Otis/Parsons in children's book writing and illustrating, where he created his first book, It Must Have Been the Wind. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Chengdu Could Not Would Not Fall Asleep:
Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year
CCBC Choices
A Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book
Distinguished List of the Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California
Texas 2X2 Reading List
WSRA Recommendation List

From the Publisher

★ 2014-02-19
In a twist on numerous picture books about little animals who are determined to stay awake, Chengdu the panda is trying his hardest to get to sleep. Droll illustrations accompany spare, lulling text, leading to Chengdu's success and a humorous surprise near the book's end. The cover art is an immediate draw: The small panda's oversized paws cling to a tree branch as his expressive, sleep-deprived face stares at readers, expertly matching the "could not, would not fall asleep" of the title. Initial pages establish a soporific mood, showing utterly relaxed, drowsily smudged pandas snoozing against a star-studded black sky, muted green bamboo branches the only spots of color. Large, softened white letters murmur, "It was late, and it was quiet, // and everyone in the bamboo grove was sleeping." The next double-page spread consists of white space with only two wide-awake, black-masked panda eyes and the words, "Everyone except…." Of course, the page turn leads readers back to wide-awake Chengdu, staring plaintively from his moon-washed tree branch. Varied compositions and a couple of gatefolds add to the fun for readers as poor Chengdu tosses, scrunches and climbs his way to sleep…almost but, happily, not quite at the expense of his brother, Yuan. Little sleepyheads will love chanting along with the words, and no one can deny the appeal of the art. A bedtime winner. (Picture book. 1-5)

Kirkus Reviews