Goodnight, Sleepyville

by Blake Liliane Hellman, Steven Henry (Illustrator)

Overview

Little ones will love to snuggle up with the adorable animal families of Sleepyville who are getting ready for bed in this sweet, classically-inspired picture book.

In Sleepyville, the sun is setting, and animal families are heading home for the night. After milk and cookies, everyone has fun brushing their teeth and picking out their favorite pajamas--stripes, plaid, or polka-dots?Then, under twinkling stars, it's time to wiggle into their cozy beds for lullabies and bedtime stories.

Sweet dreams, Sleepyville . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681198774
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	39 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 Months to 5 Years

About the Author

Blake Liliane Hellman is the author of Welcome to Morningtown, Something Smells!, and Cuddle Monkey. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Steven, the illustrator of this book.

Steven Henry (né D'Amico) is the illustrator of several picture books for children, including the award-winning Ella the Elegant Elephant, It's Raining Bats&Frogs, All Kinds Of Kisses, and Welcome to Morningtown. He currently serves as an art director at Committee for Children, a non-profit organization promoting social and emotional learning for kids.
www.stevenhenry.net

Editorial Reviews

05/11/2020

A natural sequel to the creators’ Welcome to Morningtown, this volume features Sleepyville: a cozy, affable forest community inhabited by foxes, bears, rabbits, and other creatures. “The sun is setting,/ and everyone’s/ done for the day,” writes Hellman, and readers see animals heading home in evening light, pulling carts of groceries, popping into the library, then gathering for dinner before going through the familiar bedtime routine. In Henry’s illustrations, a parent and baby porcupine smooch, a family of worms snuggles under a leaf, and bears toast marshmallows in front of a fire. When the whole animal kingdom is bedding down in adorable vignettes, afloat on the sea or curled in a nest, going to sleep seems like the thing to do—and readers are assured that they’ll have plenty of company as they drift off. Ages up to 5. (June)

Publishers Weekly

This endearing bedtime tale strikes a refreshing note. . . . Children will want to make this tender story a goodnight habit.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Softly colored, detailed cartoon illustrations bring to mind some of the more gently themed animated films of long ago . . . very young readers will enjoy seeing the everyday activities and the gentle spirits of these animal counterparts.” —Kirkus Reviews on WELCOME TO MORNINGTOWN

“Pleasantly harmonized words and pictures make this a winsome start-of-day read-aloud.” —Publishers Weekly on WELCOME TO MORNINGTOWN

“The enthusiastic and simple text serves as a reassuring reminder to young readers . . . that there are many exciting things waiting for us out in the day.” —School Library Journal on WELCOME TO MORNINGTOWN

“Adorable. . . . Readers are assured that they'll have plenty of company as they drift off.” —Publishers Weekly

“A comforting tale of nighttime routines, homes, and family love, this first purchase supports social emotional learning through an imaginary world of cozy bedtimes for young readers.” —School Library Journal online (starred review)

From the Publisher

05/22/2020

PreS-Gr 2—It's the end of the day for the families in Sleepyville, as detailed scenes entice young readers to imagine the lives of animal families in an anthropomorphic folk art fantasy. Pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations show shops closing, shadows lengthening, and last call to check out books from the library. The residents find their ways to a variety of homes: ladybugs return to the domes of toadstools, a snail adjusts a tiny roof, and others return to an elaborate house across the expanse of a tree's broad branches. Simple tasks bring the day to a close—shoes off, "wash your paws for supper," clean up after dinner, and don favorite pajamas. The alliterative text reinforces the images—sweeping, shutting, strutting—as animals snuggle, wiggle, and cuddle up for a bedtime lullaby. VERDICT A comforting tale of nighttime routines, homes, and family love, this first purchase supports social emotional learning through an imaginary world of cozy bedtimes for young readers.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX

School Library Journal

2020-02-26
In Sleepyville, getting ready for sleep is anything but sleepy.

So much to do….The families of the woodland community known as Sleepyville—bears, bunnies, porcupines, foxes, birds, insects, and others—clean up, shutter businesses, and proceed to their various homes. There, they perform cozy nightly rituals: eating dinner, washing dishes, sharing a snack, choosing PJ’s, brushing teeth, snuggling, and listening to lullabies and/or stories before bed. In the meantime, the sun sets, the moon rises, and the stars twinkle. Then all lights are out—except one, the source of which is revealed on a most charming, wordless final page. This endearing bedtime tale strikes a refreshing note in a crowded field with its sweet simplicity. Ditto for the adorable, gently humorous illustrations replete with cuddly scenes of Sleepyville residents comfortably settled in for the evening in their own idiosyncratic ways. Reassuring glimpses of warm, loving families will charm young children, as will the scenes depicting nighttime preparations familiar to them. Minimal text per page, lots of white space, and simple backgrounds permit focus on characters and activities.

Children will want to make this tender story a goodnight habit. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews