You Are Getting Sleepy

by Lori Alexander, Monica Mikai (Illustrator)

Overview

Lull your little one to sleep with this adorable bedtime board book, about a wide-awake baby who does not want to go to sleep!

Tick-tock, peek at the clock.

It’s time to sleep, sweet baby.

First a bath to soak…relax.

Are you getting sleepy?

A calming bedtime tune for all those wide-awake babies, this board book is about to become a favorite step of your sleepytime routine. Take your little one through the motions of bedtime, from bathtime to jammies and kisses galore. Featuring gentle text from author Lori Alexander, and joyful, colorful, tender illustrations from illustrator Monica Mikai, this board book is just-right for bedtime, everytime!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338814064
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/20/2022
Pages:	16
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD280L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Before Lori was a children's book author, she worked in Human Resources, filling important positions like Mechanical Engineer, Cancer Biologist, Patent Attorney, and CFO. Luckily, Lori always found the right baby for the job! She is the author of the picture books Backhoe Joe and Famously Phoebe, and received a Sibert Honor for her chapter book All in a Drop. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her family. Visit her online at lorialexanderbooks.com.
Monica Mikai is an illustrator and former educator. She has an MFA from the New York Studio School where she studied painting and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and her two sons.

Editorial Reviews

08/15/2022

“Tick-tock, peek at the clock.../ It’s time to sleep, sweet baby.” Caregivers coax an infant to sleep in this effective bedtime board book by Alexander, which maps out a Black family’s bedtime routine. Opening images show two arms reaching down to carry a baby from play with a pile of blocks to a sudsy bath, followed by “diaper, jammies,/ turn down lights” and a story and lullaby. As the text suggests with hypnotic repetition “Soon you’ll get so sleepy” and “YOU are getting sleepy./ Very sleepy,” the child, with smiling eyes and mouth, appears wide awake for a gently humorous effect before yawning soporifically. Visual interest comes from Mikai’s child-centric images, which make good use of patterns, textures, and shadows. When the child is at last laid down in a crib, two parental figures are shown offering final kisses and cuddles to “my sleeping sleepy baby”—a conclusion that emanates love. Ages up to 3. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 10/01/2022

PreS-K—A mother and father guide their ebullient baby through the steps of a comforting bedtime routine. At first, only the child's face can be seen, with hints of adult presence at the edges of image: a pair of hands scrubbing shampoo, a cozy lap at story time, a gentle shoulder to rest on mid-yawn. Finally, as the baby drifts off to sleep, the happy parents come fully into view. Alexander's text pairs a subtly undulating rhythm with a loose refrain, perfect for tired listeners. With softly faded colors and stippled textures, Mikai achieves a stunning depth of emotion centering the loving Black faces of the family members. VERDICT This irresistible ode to bedtime rituals is a must-have.

School Library Journal

2022-06-22
Baby winds down for bed.

Alexander and Mikai detail the steps needed to get a sweet baby to sleep. The baby is treated to a relaxing bath, dressed in fresh jammies, read a story, and given a cuddle and kiss before drifting off to sleep. Mikai’s illustrations carry the text. The use of color shows the sky darkening, plays off of the gold of a parent’s jewelry, and conveys warmth and comfort. As the baby lies in the crib looking up at their parents, the light through the slats plays across the little one’s face and the bed linens. The baby’s “tired eyes” and deep yawn playfully match the family pup’s. And in the most compelling moment in the book, a close-up of the baby’s parents shows them leaning in and giving one final, loving goodnight kiss. The illustrations capture the parents’ loving gazes, their patience and love, and the feeling of watching a wide-awake baby become a peaceful, sleeping one. The baby and parents are Black. While there are many bedtime board books for baby, this one stands out for its incredible illustrations and for centering a family of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Perfectly captures bedtime for baby from a parental perspective. (Board book. 0-1)

Kirkus Reviews