When I'm Sleepy

This is a nicely done children's book with beautiful illiustrations by Linne Cherry. The prose of Jane R. Howard has a sing-song cadence, and is related one sentence a page. Each page pictures the young girl narrator in a different place sleeping, and in each page she is being held by a cozy animal. The story, wording and cadence are condusive to a good night's rest and will be perfect to settle kids down for beddy-bye. J. Lyon Layden The Other Side of Yore

What a great book. My 17 month old now runs to the stairs to go to bed and asks for "the sleepy book". The pictures are beautiful, the pages CAN'T tear, and she loves it. She stands when the giraffe page comes, but sits right back down with the owl. A nice change from Goodnight Moon which we read for 17 months!!!

Jane Howard lulls us to sleep with soothing adjectives such as cozy, curl, stretch, yawn and warm, while we're drawn in by Lynne Cherry's illustrations utilizing brilliant colors and life-like imagery. This is a simple bedtime story that pacifies both reader and listener. It draws you in with the repetition of the phrase, "When I'm sleepy," and keeps you in a very tranquil mood until the very end. I read this book to my children in order to calm myself down. Days are hectic for both children and their parents, and I always found this book to be of comfort to both. There is an appreciation for nature and a glance into our wildlife, their habitat, and how the animal kingdom comes to rest. The earth tones of green, orange, red and blue are found on every page. The young girl sleeps beside the animals in their sprawling or confined surroundings and appears content in every posture. This book roams through the mind of a sleepy young girl wishing and wondering what it would be like to sleep with turtles in a swamp, raccoons in a hollow log, penguins on the freezing ice or giraffes standing up. She is pictured on each page doing those things that transform the setting but not the mood of the story. In the end she discovers the place she desires most is her own cozy bed with warm cuddly blankets and a soft pillow. On the final page, fluffy white clouds above her head reveal the various animals she had imagined as she was falling asleep. I think this book is a delightful alternative to counting sheep! I would recommend it to anyone who like me is always trying to find ways to get children to relax. You cannot read this book without becoming relaxed. It's like a magic potion. Jane Howard captured the essence of falling asleep in a unique and captivating way. The illustrations seal the words inside a cozy blanket of color and style that makes this book a true work of art!

I love this book! I read at least a half dozen books to my 2 year old daughter each night before she goes to bed, and this is the one I always leave for last. The words are soothing and spark the imagination and the pictures are large and colorful. This beautifully illustrated book is a wonderful way to end the day and send your little one to dream land. I place it in the same company as "Goodnight Moon".

My 16 month old son hands me this book almost every night. The main character is a little girl who wonders what it would be like to sleep where animals do - in different surroundings (e.g. birds nest, underwater). The illustrations are colorful and show different animals sleeping in their respective environments.