Sleepyheads

by Sandra J. Howatt, Joyce Wan (Illustrator)

Overview

Both spirited and soothing, this bedtime read-aloud story is the perfect preface for a trip to dreamland.

The sun has set, and sleepyheads all across the land are tucked into their cozy beds.
Rabbit is snoozing in the weeds, and Duck is snuggled in the reeds.
Bear is nestled in his cave, and Otter is rocking on a wave.
But there’s one little sleepyhead who’s not in his bed.
Where, oh where, could he be?

This sweet, snuggly, and silly bedtime book with irresistible illustrations is sure to prepare little ones for a cozy night’s sleep.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442422667
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	05/06/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	267,540
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD380L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Sandra J. Howatt is a former dance instructor who now writes children’s books. Sleepyheads marks her picture book debut. Sandra lives with her family in The Woodlands, Texas.

Joyce Wan is the author and illustrator of several picture books, including Greetings from Kiwi and Pear, You Are My Cupcake, and We Belong Together. She also runs a design studio whose stationery and gift products are sold worldwide. Joyce lives with her husband in New York City. Visit her at WanArt.com.

Editorial Reviews

03/24/2014
Howatt debuts with a bedtime story that, true to its theme, is quiet and somnolent in tone. An unseen narrator points out a handful of sleeping animals, including a bird in a nest, a squirrel in the hollow of a tree, and a piglet in a barn. Rather than identify the animals, the text refers to each as “sleepyhead,” leaving space for children to provide each creature’s name. The repetitive structure of Howatt’s sturdy rhymed couplets is soothing, if a bit repetitive at times: “Look! I see a sleepyhead snuggled in the reeds./ I see another sleepyhead resting in the weeds.” Wan’s (My Lucky Little Dragon) spare and gentle illustrations are more distinctive, as she portrays the animals in soft, rounded shapes to create an inviting and secure atmosphere. The subdued palette befits the nighttime setting, with glimmers of light provided by a crescent moon, stars, and fireflies. An image of a baby asleep in its mother’s arms brings the book to a sweet close. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Prospect Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

This poetic book from a debut author will help youngsters wind down at the end of the day as nocturnal colored-pencil illustrations take them on a tour of nature's denizens heading to bed . . . . Littlest ones will love finding the child "asleep in Mama's arms."

December 2, 2014 - Shelf Awareness for Readers

"As the rhythmic, rhyming text flows on, small children will enjoy naming the plump little animals depicted throughout the book...the repetitive sounds of the text and the dimly lit, rounded forms of sleeping animals have their own soothing, soporific effect. Good bedtime reading for young children."

May 2014 Booklist

★ 2014-03-17
Sleepyhead readers explore a hushed woodland at dusk, where they discover animals nestled in their cozy places at bedtime. Yawning little listeners will fall immediately and effortlessly into the rhetorical rhythms of this surefire good-night book. Gentle narration, soft exclamations and soothing "s" sounds surface again and again, streaming together sweetly. The earthy, mellow artwork, with its dusky greens and browns and thick linework, comforts too. Wan's many circular shapes (all those radiant stars, the creatures' rounded heads, ears, coiled bodies and tails—even dandelion seed-puffs and a lightning bug's glow) recall the warm curve of a caregiver's chest. Just when heavy-lidded listeners start to shut their eyes, they might notice a watchful crescent moon hovering on every full-bleed, double-page spread, reassuring them that all animals (and people) sleep under a shared sky. After visiting every bed in the forest ("We found all the little ones/ in trees, in holes, in caves./ We found all the sleepyheads/ in weeds, in reeds, on waves"), listeners enter a quiet house looking for one last sleepyhead—a baby already fast asleep in mother's arms. That's if they are still awake. A superb execution of soporific shapes and sounds perfect for the bedside table. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews