Book Review: All the Awake Animals Are Almost Asleep
Age Range: 0+
Author: Crescent Dragonwagon
Illustrator: David McPhail
Little, Brown and Company
New York
2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-07045-4
List Price: $16.59 (barnesandnoble.com)
A little kid says he isn’t sleepy at bedtime (surprise!), so his mom proceeds to tell him how the animals settle down to sleep, A to Z.
As far as alphabet bedtime books goes, I really appreciated the originality of the animals included (some less common ones making an appearance such as bison, hedgehog, mole, and vole). Also, the alliterations used for each letter and animal are really fun to read (to be fair, I love alliterations, and Cap’n Turbot for them). They also have the effect of forcing some less common vocabulary for little ones with good effect. For example, “Rabbit relaxes into restful repose dreaming of ripe red radishes”. Even the title is an alliteration.
The illustrations (watercolor and ink) are calming and all depict sleepy, snuggly, animals which definitely has the desired effect as a bedtime story. The use of cursive letters mixed in with the illustrations may be somewhat confusing for a kid who is starting to recognize letters, but also makes it unique.
My 3-year-old went back and back and back to this one for a stretch, and it seems to be a strong contender for kids who love animals.