Feet, Go to Sleep

by Barbara Bottner, Maggie Smith (Illustrator)

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t) comes a gentle bedtime book that includes a proven relaxation technique parents can use to help their little ones go to sleep after an exciting day.
 
The sun has set and dinner is done, but Fiona is still excited about the day and is not at all ready for bed.
 
So her mom helps her settle down with their nightly ritual of sending each part of her—from her toes to her nose—off to sleep. As Fiona relaxes her body, she recalls a marvelous day at the beach where feet were for stomping in the waves, legs were for running after cousins, tummy was for holding strawberries, and arms were for catching beach balls. And bit by bit, memory by memory, Fiona slips from a great day into a good night.
 
Barbara Bottner and Maggie Smith create an action-packed day to remember and provide parents with a wonderful technique for helping their own busy little ones drift peacefully off to sleep.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780449813270
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	42 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

BARBARA BOTTNER studied painting in Paris, worked as a set designer, toured as part of an acting ensemble, and made animated shorts for Sesame Street before turning to writing and illustrating children’s books. She is the author of more than 36 books, including Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t), illustrated by Michael Emberley, and Bootsie Barker Bites, illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. She lives in Los Angeles, and you can visit her on the Web at barbarabottnerbooks.com.
 
MAGGIE SMITH’s acclaimed books include One Naked Baby; Dear Daisy, Get Well Soon; Desser the Best Ever Cat; and Christmas with the Mousekins. She lives in Seattle. You can find her on the Web at maggiebooks.com, and on etsy at maggierama.etsy.com.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2015
K-Gr 2—Veteran author and illustrator Bottner and Smith team up to create a charming seaside bedtime story. Pajama-clad Fiona is standing on her head on her bed when Mama comes to tell her it is "time to say good night." Fiona clearly is not sleepy, but Mama suggests that she must be tired "from her head to her toes." Thus the scene is set for each successive page turn, as Fiona acquiesces and commands first her toes, then her feet, then her knees, legs and tummy, her shoulders, her arms, hands and fingers, then her mouth and finally her ears, to "go to sleep." Inset pictures on every page show Fiona gradually settling into her bed and relaxing each part of her body. The full-page illustrations behind the insets depict Fiona and her family enjoying their day at the beach. "Feet were for stomping in the waves…. Legs were for running after the cousins…. Arms were for catching the beach ball." After Fiona has focused on and relaxed every bit of her body she is able to close her eyes and drift off. Smith's colorful mixed-media illustrations exude all the fun of a summer's day spent at the ocean, topped off with a barbecue picnic dinner on the beach house lawn. The dual-scene spreads include just enough detail to juxtapose the excitement of the day with the scenario of a child learning to soothe herself to sleep. VERDICT A gentle, joyous addition to most collections.—Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, Oak Bluffs, MA

School Library Journal

2015-02-16
When every inch of you is bone tired, why not try falling asleep bit by bit? That's what little Fiona, weary from a tiring day frolicking with family at the beach, does—and it works. She dispatches each body part off to dreamland, reminiscing as she goes how each part, starting with her toes and proceeding upward, was especially suited to enjoy a day bursting with activity and fun. The watercolor, gouache, fabric, and digital illustrations are bright and cheerful, neatly conveying a perky child and her warm, happy memories of a day spent with loving, multiethnic relatives. In her body language, Fiona looks almost as energetic in her varying states of repose as she did on the beach and during the picnic afterward, which may lead some readers to believe that actively, consciously willing the body to sleep might stimulate wakefulness rather than induce drowsiness. Additionally, the front blurb suggests that sending body parts off to sleep, one by one, is "a proven relaxation technique," but no supporting evidence to back this up is provided in an author's note or elsewhere; parents might appreciate corroborative research or anecdotal data. Still, children and their special grown-ups should find this an endearing prelude to bedtime after their own very busy days, especially if enlivened by discussions of how kids' body parts figured into their activities. This technique for drifting off to slumber is surely worth a try. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews