It's happy book birthday time! This one released two days ago and looks like such an adorable read. I'm going to assume that it's a bedtime read (pretty obvious, right?) and expect a calming story with a hint of gentle silliness and lots of snuggling love. Why? The cover. The purple panda in a bamboo forest seems very inviting, and the look of curiosity and wonder on his face as he stares at the fireflies is adorable.
So, are we ready to see if it's a lovely, sleepy time read?
THE NOT-SO-SLEEPY LITTLE PANDA
by David Walker
Atheneum Books
Picture Book
40 pages
ages 4 to 8
A charmingly cozy rhyming picture book about a sweet little panda who has trouble falling asleep.
The moon is too far,
the stars are too high.
Little Panda is scared
by the dark of the sky.
But a marvelous bug,
with a magical light,
is just what she needs
to sleep through the night.
It’s time for bed, but Little Panda wants to stay awake! Her bed is too lumpy, lullabies don’t work, and the dark is a little scary. But with the help of her parents and some twinkling friends, Little Panda might face her fears after all. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll even fall asleep!
The moon is too far,
the stars are too high.
Little Panda is scared
by the dark of the sky.
But a marvelous bug,
with a magical light,
is just what she needs
to sleep through the night.
It’s time for bed, but Little Panda wants to stay awake! Her bed is too lumpy, lullabies don’t work, and the dark is a little scary. But with the help of her parents and some twinkling friends, Little Panda might face her fears after all. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll even fall asleep!
MY TIDBITS
Not-so-sleepy turns into magical moments as the parents of a little panda do their best to guide her to sleep.
Written in rhyme, this is an enjoyable read from beginning to end. The little, purple panda is adorable. Her inability to feel sleepy is a problem readers can sympathize with. After all, some nights are just like that, especially when there are so many wonderful things around...like the jungle. While the parents' frustration is shown in the illustrations, everything remains in a loving, caring tone. The patience, love, and understanding radiate with wholesome goodness.
The text is large to create an easy read-aloud. The verses hold four, short lines, and stick to a vocabulary very fitting to the age group. The illustrations are done in watercolor and start out with lighter tones, which increasingly grow darker with each turn of the page. This fits wonderfully to the story and even lures listeners in with increasingly dimming scenes.
It's a lovely story and perfect for a bedtime read.
And here he is...
David Walker is a bestselling artist and has happily drawn and painted all his life. As the illustrator of more than fifty books, he’s beginning to write them as well, including The Not-So-Brave Little Lion and The Not-So-Sleepy Little Panda. Dave’s days are spent in his Apex, North Carolina, studio in the company of two big snoring dogs, surrounded by paper, pencils, paints, and coffee cups. To learn more, please visit him on Instagram @DavidWalkerStudios.
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