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Yound Reading: Bedtime and book time coincide nicely
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Published: January 11, 2009
We spent our break seeing all sorts of movies that came about from great books: The Tale of Despereaux, Marley and Me, and the story-inspired Bedtime Stories, in which two children's stories come to life. With its short days, January is ideal for stretching out time for nighttime reading. We read through nearly 30 go-to-sleep selections on our shelf to find our favorite recommendations.
SNORING BEAUTY. By Bruce Hale. Harcourt. Ages 5-8. $16.
A silly parody of Sleeping Beauty, this version is narrated by a wonderfully drawn frog. He tells the story of a new princess whose royal parents throw an enormous party to celebrate her birth. Beebo, a mean fairy, isn't invited, but crashes the party to curse the child. Her curse is misunderstood by a hearing-impaired fairy, which changes the curse.
The princess is doomed to become a sleeping dragon that can be saved only by a quince. This quirky retake on the classic tale is accompanied by fabulous illustrations by Howard Fine.
FREE FALL. By David Wiesner. HarperCollins. Ages 3-8. $17.99.
Before David Wiesner won his fourth Caldecott for the fabulous (and one of our favorites) Flotsam (2006), he snagged his first Caldecott for Free Fall in 1988. Also a wordless picture book, the reissue of Free Fall makes for imaginative, beautiful bedtime storytelling.
The story follows a young boy falling asleep and dreaming of being transported to a magical land where the adventures he has read about come to life. Readers must pay close attention to the minute details to thoroughly appreciate and enjoy the book.
NIGHT'S NICE. By Barbara and Ed Emberley. Little, Brown. Ages 3-7. $12.99.
Also a reprint, Night's Nice was first published in 1962. The vivid blues and purples take the readers through many different settings, from forests with owls to Fourth of July fireworks to Christmas lights to jack-o'-lanterns on Halloween. Cities aglow shine through the night. Sleeping animals in the jungle are wonderfully painted lions and tigers. Fish swim through blue pages at night with massive whales.
A fantastic read to end your day. The phenomenal illustrations will leave readers with colorful dreams through the night. The fireworks page is absolutely breathtaking.
Looking for other nighttime classics? Choose THE PETER YARROW SONGBOOK SLEEPYTIME SONGS (Sterling. All ages. $16.95). Beautifully illustrated, this includes a CD of classics such as "All Through the Night" as well as lyrics, guitar chording and a brief history of each of the 12 songs.
IF ANIMALS KISSED GOOD NIGHT. By Ann Whitford Paul. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. Ages 4-7. $16.95.
Dream-like illustrations by David Walker, a Chapel Hill resident, add to the sweet premise of parents and children kissing good-night. The sloth would kiss her cub "soooo slooowwwww ... the sky would turn pink and the sun sink down low." From peacocks to pythons, elephants and parrots, each page shows content parents and children saying good-night from the jungles to Antarctica, just as we do in the Piedmont Triad!
Other nighttime winners for the young:
JIBBERWILLIES AT NIGHT. By Rachel Vail. Scholastic. Ages 3-7. $16.99.
TOPSY-TURVY BEDTIME. By Joan Levine. Candlewick. Ages 4-8. $14.99.
And for older readers:
ALL ABOUT SLEEP FROM A TO ZZZZ. By Elaine Scott. Ages 9-11. 58 pages. $17.99.
In Nashville over the holidays, we ate at a restaurant with a huge saltwater aquarium. A nurse shark swam to a rocky platform and settled in comfortably to rest. As Chapter One in this book tells us, "Everything Sleeps." Full of interesting anecdotes and explanations about sleep, this nonfiction selection shares research about a vital function that keeps us healthy.
The 9-to-11-year-old age group will enjoy LIGHTS OUT! A Nighttime Diary. Chronicle. $15.95. This diary comes with a built-in light perfect for writing your most secret thoughts while under the covers.
DREAMRIDER. By Barry Jonsberg. Knopf. Ages 14 and up. 239 pages. $15.99.
Steeped in the concept of lucid dreaming, this book keeps the reader guessing about what is real, what is a dream and what is mental illness for the main character, Michael Terny, a morbidly obese boy who is constantly bullied. Lucid dreaming, a popular topic for young-adult dream-centered books, focuses on dreams in which the person asleep is aware that he or she is dreaming. In essence, the person watches himself "star" in the dream.
Michael, believing he can turn his dreams into reality, exists in a deep fantasy world that is woven around his dreams, many of which deal with revenge for the bullies that have terrorized his life. His distant, abusive father only contributes to Michael's problems. The twists in the Australian author's plots take careful concentration and make for a mental thriller at the end.
WAKE. By Lisa McMann. Simon & Schuster. Ages 14 and up. $8.99.
This is another book for older teens about lucid dreaming. Wake's sequel, Fade, comes out this month. Don't miss this riveting series that eventually combines lucid dreaming with fighting crime.
■ Monica Young and Hannah Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com. View book reviews at the Journal in Education site at www.jie.journalnow.com.
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