Sleepy time

In Surprise! Surprise!, Rabbit and friends race to a stone wall then jump over it--and end up all wet. Sleepy Time recounts bedtime rituals of children and a variety of animals. There's nostalgia here, namely in the form of Fujikawa's cherubic babies and docile animals, but youngsters may respond to the books' simplicity and humor while adults appreciate the memories they evoke. [Review covers these titles: Sleepy Time and Surprise! Surprise!] (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The complex journey from wakefulness to sleep pushes through some dozing dips along the way.A handful of ethnically diverse youngsters prepare for their nightly rest by following a standard routine. They snuggle happily into several beds, but one child finds that rest is elusive. A worried, wide-eyed insomniac leans back against an equally wakeful canine cohort and observes that "Sometimes it can be hard to fall asleep." The narrative voice abruptly shifts to describe various human bedtime conditions ("You could try sleeping on the floor. Some people do, you know") to those in the animal realm. A quickly realized resolution finds day breaking as a rumpled youngster greets the sun anew. The adorable tots hearken back to an earlier (and idealized) era, depicted in cozy interior details, though the text denotes no specified time or place. Nightly slumber turns to outdoor play in the wordier (and at times meandering)Surprise! Surprise!These 1970s-era publications produce slightly wandering narratives and are far from the best realized, developmentally engaged presentations available to youngest listeners.(Board book. 2-4)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.