Sleep, Little Dozer: A Bedtime Book of Construction Trucks

by Diana Murray, Cleonique Hilsaca (Illustrator)

Overview

Little Dozer has had a busy day of revving and rumbling, and now it's time to get ready for bed in this sweet, rhyming bedtime book for kids who love construction vehicles. Perfect for children ages 3 to 7!

When day speeds away
and the sun's going down,
it's bedtime, it's bedtime
in Rumbletruck Town.

After a long day of rugged play, it's time for Little Dozer to get ready for bed. He has a bath to wash away the mud and snuggles into bed to start counting jeep after jeep... but Dozer needs his bedtime song, and Mama isn't home to sing it! Luckily, Papa knows most of the words...and as soon as Dozer drifts off to Dreamland, Mama is home to kiss him goodnight.

Featuring adorable art, this tender bedtime story is perfect for fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593119044
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	06/04/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.44(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

DIANA MURRAY is the author of over twenty-five children’s books, including Firehouse Rainbow, Pizza Pig, and Unicorn Night (an Amazon Best Book of the Year). Diana grew up in New York City, where noisy trucks rumbled under her window, and busy construction sites were always in view. She still lives nearby with her husband, two children, and a fuzzy dog who loves car rides.

CLEONIQUE HILSACA is an illustrator from Honduras based in Savannah, GA. Her professional work can be found in picture books, newspapers, magazines, board games and galleries. Though her work is primarily digital, she can be found painting watercolors in the wild.

Editorial Reviews

04/15/2024

A little digger struggles with bedtime in Mama’s absence until a construction-oriented song from Papa eases the way in this likable rhyming sleep aid for truck-lovers. After a big day “of revving and rumbling/ and rough-tumble play,” mud-splattered Dozer heads in, but bedtime arrives before Mama gets home: “He snuggles his teddy,/ counts jeep after jeep,/ but poor little Dozer,/ still can’t fall asleep.” Luckily, Papa readily jumps in with a lilting lullaby about “Rumbletruck Town,” where various vehicles “all settle their motors,/ and peacefully snooze.” When final stanzas elude Papa, Dozer takes part, finding the calm necessary to shut off his engine before Mama’s return finds him tucked in tight. Hilsaca’s round-edged digital artwork features light-toned colors and long shadows, supplying an appropriately soothing vibe for this relaxing read. Ages 3–7. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"A dream of a bedtime book." —Kirkus Reviews

"Hilsaca’s round-edged digital artwork features light-toned colors and long shadows, supplying an appropriately soothing vibe for this relaxing read." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2024-04-05
A little bulldozer worries that he won’t be able to go to sleep without Mama, but Papa performs the bedtime routine admirably.

Small yellow Dozer protests when blue-green, mustachioed Papa announces that it’s time for bed. “But Mama’s not here!” “She still isn’t back / from her work at the pier.” Nevertheless, Papa gives Dozer a bath and reads him a bedtime story (The 3 Little Rigs). When sleep proves elusive—even after Dozer tries counting jeeps—Papa sings Mama’s bedtime song. A fluffy, cloudlike border appears around the scenes of mixers (“weary from spinning their drums”), garbage trucks, tankers, and trenches, all snoozing away. When Papa forgets the ending, Dozer reminds him how it goes. Dozer drifts off to Dreamland and is fast asleep by the time Mama, a red forklift, comes in to kiss him good night. Murray’s flawless rhyme and Hilsaca’s gentle colors, rounded shapes, and adorable, kawaii-flavored dozers are a delight. The tale has the charm of Kate Dopirak’s Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Car (2018), illustrated by Mary Peterson, without the pressure to sing the whole book—and with the bonus of showing a loving, competent father at bedtime while Mama is at work.

A dream of a bedtime book. (Picture book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews