Overview
Have you ever wondered what is happening in the nighttime world as you are going to sleep? Poet Eileen Spinelli takes her readers on a long adventure to see bridges and boats dressed up with lights, ride on a night train, listen to whale songs, visit a great white shark, and watch a storm thunder in from the safety of a warm bed. Complemented by the whimsical appeal of Cyd Moore's charming illustrations, this original collection of poems will add extra pleasure to bedtime or naptime reading.
A collection of poems that appeals to the imagination of young children. Bright watercolor drawings accompany each poem.
Synopsis
Poet Eileen Spinelli takes her readers on a long adventure to see bridges and boats dressed up with lights, ride on a night train, listen to whale songs, visit a great white shark, and watch a storm thunder in from the safety of a warm bed. Full-color illustrations.
Publishers Weekly
Although its title seems to promise moon-kissed metaphors and dreamy rhythms, this collection of lilting verse ventures far beyond its stated theme. It's difficult, for example, to see what a poem about soaring "on borrowed wings/ of Poetry" or another about feeling the "tickle" in a field of goldenrod has to do with bedtime. Among poems dedicated to bedtime and slumber, "Counting Sheep to Get to Sleep" describes rambunctious sheep ("The next time I can't get to sleep/ I'll try warm milk") and "I Don't Believe in Bigfoot" is about not yielding to scary nighttime monsters ("I'm hoping with my fingers crossed/ They don't believe in me"). Spinelli's (Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch) poems are by turn contemplative, funny and sweet, all couched in language easily accessible to her audience. Populated by Mercer Mayer-type children and grinning animals, Moore's (Songs of Summer) colored pencil and watercolor illustrations offer few surprises in an otherwise pleasant volume. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)