Sleep

The Napping House

Audrey Wood. Let the whole class read along! Great big version of a great big favorite! A colorful riot of a bedtime story about sleepy people and animals napping in a cozy bed.

There is a house,
a napping house,
where everyone is sleeping.

"Everyone," in this case is a snoring granny, a dreaming child, a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, a slumbering mouse... and a wakeful flea! Uh-oh. Looks like the napping house won't be napping for long. With their very own brand of humor, Audrey Wood and Don Wood create an appealing bedtime book compatible with Margaret Wise Brown's classic Goodnight Moon. This small, square board book, with its rhythmic, repetitive text and witty pictures in shades of ever-brightening blues and greens (as the night turns to day), is sure to be a winner with preschool insomniacs. The sleepy household congregates on Granny's bed, slowly building a very relaxed pile of bodies in shifting positions. Young readers will enjoy tracking the critters as they make their way, one by one, to the bed--and then guessing what will happen when the wakeful flea joins the heap. Be sure to look for this author-illustrator team's other hilarious collaborative efforts, including Piggies and Silly Sally. (Baby to preschool) --Emilie Coulter

Night Noises (Voyager Book)

Russell the Sheep

This is Russell.

Sometimes Russell is just a little bit out of step with the rest of the flock.

All the sheep are falling asleep -- except Russell.

What's a sheep to do?

Russell tries everything ... until, at last, he falls asleep.

My Parents Think I'm Sleeping (I Can Read Book 3)

The childhood ritual of being put to bed has been a source of inspiration for children (and frustration for grownups) throughout the ages. Prolific children's poet Jack Prelutsky has taken this undeniable truism and run with it in My Parents Think I'm Sleeping, an eye-opening, poetic romp through the multitude of adventures that can take place after the lights have been turned out. From pleasant nighttime thoughts ("I have been in bed for hours, / but I'm sure I'm wide-awake, / for my head is filled with visions / of a forest by a lake.") to philosophical ponderings ("What happens to the colors / when night replaces day? / What turns the wrens to ravens, / the trees to shades of gray?"), children everywhere will relate to these soothing, sleepy poems. Illustrated by Yossi Abolafia with the foggy blues and grays of the gloaming, kids will love snuggling up with this book--in fact, it just might make tuck-in time a dream! (Ages 4 to 8)

From reading under the covers to watching shadows dance on the wall, these fourteen vigorous verses show that a child's life begins at bedtime!

La casa adormecida

I Am Not Going To Get Up Today! (Beginner Books(R))

Although I'm Not Going to Get Up Today! is aimed at young readers, it just gets better as you get older. Only after you've weathered more than few world-weary years can you fully appreciate this book's profound and universal message: "The alarm can ring. The birds can peep. My bed is warm. My pillow's deep. Today's the day I'm going to sleep!" But the rhyming words of Dr. Seuss and goofy illustrations from James Stevenson will surely get more than a few giggles from the old and the young, as everyone in town--from brothers and sisters to the police and the Marines--conspires to get our little hero out of bed. But, as the sleepy boy says, "nobody's going to get me up, no matter what he does." (Not with tickling nor shaking nor cold water on the head.) "Nothing's going to get me up. Why can't you understand! You'll only waste your money if you hire a big brass band." (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

Illus. in full color. "A rhyming story that is full of laughs. 'The alarm can ring. The birds can peep....Today's the day I'm going to sleep,' says a lazy boy one morning, and despite a pail of icy water, television coverage, and the arrival of the Marines, he vows to stay in bed--and he does! The repetition of concepts and words will keep children turning the pages, as will the energetic drawings. A sure draw for early readers."--Booklist.  

Baby Danced the Polka (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards))

ItÂ’s nap time on the farm, but one un-sleepy baby has a different plan...
Will Baby do the cha-cha? Will Mama flip her wig?
Will Baby dance the polka with a polka-dotted pig?
Perfect fun for young children who like lively stories, this happy tale invites all to join in and dance along. Read, sing, lift the flaps, do a little jig-and-twirl! ItÂ’s a toe-tappinÂ’, no-nappinÂ’ good time when baby starts to boogie.

Close Your Eyes (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))

A mother tiger wants her baby to go to sleep, but the little tiger resists. "'If I close my eyes,' he said, 'I can't see the sky.'" She assures him that he will not only see the sky when he sleeps, but will float among clouds and be cradled by the moon. Not in the least assured, the little tiger complains that if he closes his eyes, he will miss seeing the tree and the bird with blue feathers. With each concern, his mother consoles him with a comforting thought. If this gentle give-and-take were not calming enough for a bedtime story, Hallensleben's lovely dreamscapes (And If the Moon Could Talk) will surely do the trick. Double-page paintings of cloud animal shapes (with the little tiger cozying up with the moon), the "big mountains where the rain lives," and of mother tiger licking her baby are utterly hypnotic. Young children who are afraid to go to sleep will learn that "Dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams" and that mom is never very far away. (Ages 3 to 6) --Karin Snelson

Wynken, Blynken, & Nod

In this bedtime poem, three fishermen in a wooden shoe catch stars in their nets of silver and gold.

The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep (Seems)