CM Magazine: All on a Sleepy Night.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VIII Number 14 . . . . March 15, 2002

All on a Sleepy Night.

Shutta Crum. Illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault.
Toronto, ON: Stoddart Kids, 2001.
24 pp., cloth, $19.95.
ISBN 0-7737-3315-9.

Subject Headings:
Sleep-Juvenile fiction.
Sounds-Juvenile fiction.
Night-Juvenile fiction.

Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 4-8.

Review by Harriet Zaidman.

**** /4

excerpt:

In a little log house,
On a great green hill,
Under a shimmering sky;
One small boy,
On his grandparents' bed,
Whispers "goodnight" with a sigh.

All on a Sleepy Night is a bedtime story that will remind parents of classic bedtime tales, both in the text and the illustrations. Shutta Crum has created a gentle poem that follows the futile efforts of a little boy to resist falling asleep in his grandparents' bed. The creaks and groans of the house and his grandparents' noisy whistles and snores become rhythmic and soothing:

The fridge joins in with a jump and a jig,
Humming a tune or two.
But the faucet - old faucet - slow drippy-slo-
Hasn't much to do.
Hum, drip, hum, d-r-i-p,
All on a sleepy night.
Hum, d-r-i-p, hum, d-r-i-p
Under a northern sky.

Nature also conspires against sleeplessness as the animals and birds "whisper their soft goodnights" outside. All this action takes place under the northern sky that Crum recalls from camping trips with her own children. Sylvie Daigneault has produced soft, dream-like images to remind the reader of the blues and greens of the northern lights. The round, kindly moon radiates its quiet light down through the atmosphere. The log cabin, with its old-style furnishings on a soft taupe background, shows its personality as it breathes and moves in the dark.

All on a Sleepy Night will easily become a favorite story for snuggling. Children will identify with the little boy who fights sleep, but who finds security, comfort, and sleep in wonderfully familiar surroundings and with people who love him. Children will love this book as will parents who find that it helps ease their little ones into slumberland.

Highly Recommended.

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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