Down in the Woods at Sleepytime - Hardcover

Schaefer, Carole Lexa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763608432 ISBN 13: 9780763608439

Publisher: Candlewick, 2000

Synopsis

Soothe a child to sleep—and meet the most fetching menagerie of woodland babies ever!

It's sleepytime down in the woods, but not one of the baby animals is ready to go to bed. The bear cubs want to play, the little hedgehogs are hungry, the bunnies are peek-a-booing, the toadlets are singing—and their mamas are at their wits' end! Will Grandma Owl finally find a way to settle everyone down to sleep?

Carole Lexa Schaefer's delightful wordplay and Vanessa Cabban's winsome illustrations evoke a playful woodland world where tots of all types try to elude bedtime—until wise Grandma Owl affirms with a story that the time is right to say goodnight.

About this title

About the Author

Carole Lexa Schaefer says DOWN IN THE WOODS AT SLEEPYTIME was inspired "by all my friends at Little Friends Preschool who like to play just a little bit longer—even at sleepytime."

Vanessa Cabban says, "I wanted to suggest that bedtime can be the best time of day—by creating pictures that make children feel safe and warm, helping them drift from the excitement of play to the coziness of their beds."

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-"Deep down in the woods," mother animals are saying, "It's sleepytime," but bear cubs want to play, hedgehog babies are still hungry, bunnies are peek-a-booing, and toadlets are making up songs. When wise Grandma Owl hoots, "It's storytime," the little ones settle in for her tale of baby animals drifting off to sleep. This beautifully atmospheric picture book benefits from gentle, often alliterative text: hedgehogs "snuffle for snacks in the mossy grass," and rabbits "hip-hop, they hide under fat, green leaves." Schaefer's words are soothing even as they describe boisterous play, and are a perfect accompaniment to the jewel-toned pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. A sweeping double-page panorama of the woods in late afternoon opens the book, and a nighttime view of the scene appears at the end. In between, the pictures merge from golden-touched greens to blues and purples as the night descends upon the forest. Cabban's animals are extremely expressive, from the mischievous grins of the playful bear cubs to the look of utter contentment on Mama Toad's face as she proudly listens to her children sing. An ideal bedtime story.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0763608432
• ISBN 13: 9780763608439
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Cabban Vanessa