Author: Hans-Christian Schmidt (no website found)
Publisher: Abbeville Publishing Group
Rating: WORTHY!
Illustrated by Andrea Nemet
Text by Cynthia Vance
Translated by Laura Lindgren
I have no idea who Hans-Christian Schmidt is. I know he isn't to be confused with Hans-Christian Schmid, whose name doesn't describe him to a T, yet with whom Google is quite evidently obsessed. He's not a Danish politician and former Minister of Transport, but the author of this charming children's story, and he has an easy voice and a sleepy way with words. Having said that, we need to recognize that this is a translation, so we don't know exactly what he said, which leaves a rather philosophical question as to whose sweet words we're really reading here; however, your child probably won't be as picky as we adults can be, so we'll let that slide this time.
The important thing here is that the sole purpose of this little book is to send your child efficiently off to noddy-land, and I think it fulfills its purpose rather well. We're presented with a rather mantric approach to inducing sleep, which I haven't tested but which seems to me to be hypnotically well-advised. Each page has a fun illustration, with which you might want to acquaint your bairns beforehand so they're not constantly re-awakening themselves with an urgent desire to see to see the image. This approach, in fact, serves double duty, because it's a teaser. Once the kids know there's an engrossing story in the offering, they'll be all the more ready to go to bed, the better to become acquainted with it! Just don't try tackling the pictures on a smartphone which isn't so smart when it comes to reading children's books with images containing very small text.
The book cycles through a commendably diverse array of animals, all of whom are settling down for the night with a parent (or guardian!): dogs, caterpillars, owls, giraffes, kangaroo, fish, hens, crabs, bees, sloths, bats, hedgehogs, flamingos, snakes, moles, ducks, and finally, humans. You don't usually see some of these animals portrayed in a positive light and sans stereotypes. I think it would have been fun to have seen a plant in the line up (or the lay down, in this case!). Plants sleep - kinda - but other than that, I have no complaints at all. The images are delightful, and the text easy on the ears.
In short this was a wonderful book for inducing sleep, and how often do you get to say that about a book and mean it in a positive light?!
