BLOG STOP! If You Want To Fall Asleep

We are thrilled to celebrate the release of IF YOU WANT TO FALL ASLEEP by friend of the cottage Jackie Azúa Kramer! And guess who's back? NINA from MAMABELLY LUNCHES WITH LOVE! Scroll down to the link below to view Nina's special Literary Lunch for Little Mouse.

IF YOU WANT TO FALL ASLEEP
by Jackie Azúa Kramer
illustrated by Lisa Brandenburg

What it's all about...
It's bedtime and Little Mouse isn't sleepy. Mama makes suggestion after suggestion of helpful things Little Mouse can do to fall asleep—but nothing is working.

Why we love it...
It's a classic, clever, imaginative, cumulative tale, perfect for reading sweet little mice to sleep.

Some of our favorite lines...
If you want to fall asleep
and you're staring at the ceiling. . .
Count stars in the sky.
Not one or two or three,
but each star, near and far.
And when you float among the stars,
remember wishes:
birthday wishes, secret wishes,
dream wishes.

And wait for dozing.

A few of our fave illustrations...

All images (c) Lisa Brandenburg 2018

What's the kid-appeal?
Kids will relate to Little Mouse's dilemma, enjoy all of Mama's imaginative solutions, and pore over the oh-so-darling illustrations in this book.

What's the grownup appeal?
Every parent has heard the words, "but I'm not sleepy," from their kiddos at bedtime. This lyrical bedtime book is a classic way to calm down, giggle, snuggle, and invite kids to let their imaginations carry them off to sweet slumber.

Where to find/ buy If You Want to Fall Asleep
Indie Booksellers
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Or at a school or library near you!

***********************************

Many lives ago Jackie Azúa Kramer was an actor, singer and school counselor. Now Jackie wiles away her time writing children's picture books. What ties these all together and remains a constant are her dreams and imagination. Jackie's picture books, THE GREEN UMBRELLA (NorthSouth Books) illustrated by Maral Sassouni chosen by CBC Bank Street College - 'Best Children's Books of the Year' and 2017 Parents' Choice Award Silver Medal. Coming soon: THE BOY AND THE EIGHT HUNDRED POUND GORILLA (Candlewick 2020), THAT'S FOR BABIES (Clavis, TBD) and MILES WON'T SMILE (Clavis, TBD). She loves to read all kinds of books. But she has a sweet spot for stories that remind her that there’s a big world to go and explore. Jackie hopes one day her books will make someone feel that way, too. Learn more at http://www.jackieazuakramer.com.

Lisa Brandenburg is a Dutch illustrator who graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy of Arts, Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2000. Lisa has a wide range of artistic interests and she seizes the chances and challenges that come along with a new project. She generally uses a mix of techniques and plays with colors and composition. Her work can be slightly melancholic, is both child- & adult-friendly and has a touch of humor. She lives with her husband, son and daughter in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. Learn more at http://www.lisabrandenburg.nl/

************************************

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE A TASTY  LITERARY LUNCH FOR IF YOU WANT TO FALL ASLEEP FROM CHEF NINA AT MAMABELLY!

Edith Hope Fine's "Loved-to-Pieces" Books for Sleepyheads. . .

Today, The Little Crooked Cottage welcomes Edith Hope Fine, author of the brand new picture book Sleepytime Me, a bedtime book that takes readers on a journey through town and country, as each of its inhabitants settle down after the sun has splashed beautiful colors in the sky, and fireflies and crickets begin their evening dance. We were lucky enough to see an advanced copy of this little gem, because it's illustrated by our good friend (Mr. Pig creator) Christopher Denise!

This book truly enchanted us. With soothing, lyrical language and luminous, evocative art, it's a gentle ode to that magical time of day, perfect for sending little ones off to slumber with a story, a whisper and a kiss.

Interior art from Sleepytime Me (Random House Children's Books)
Copyright 2014, Christopher Denise.

After reading it, we curious cottagers wondered which bedtime books the author of a such a lovely goodnight story loved-to-pieces as a child. So we asked! And to our delight, Edith was kind enough to share. Here are five of Edith's most treasured favorites. Thanks, Edith! 

"Rolling out of bed (I’m an owl, not a bluebird) as Sleepytime Me with Christopher Denise’s brilliant (both senses of the word: genius and light-filled) art rolls out from Random House, I’m thinking of books for sleepyheads: from now-ish, from my kids’ childhoods, from when my favorite (okay, only) bro Bill and I were young, and one from the Way-Back Machine: my mom’s childhood."

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

"I can remember poring over these drawings—marveling at Robert McCloskey’s ducks as they splashed and cavorted on the pages and waiting for Michael the policeman to blow his whistle and halt the traffic so Mrs. Mallard and her eight could safely cross."

How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen by Russell Hoban; illustrated by Quentin Blake

"What a romp, verbally—thank Russell Hoban—and visually—thank Quentin Blake. Tom is an expert at fooling around, so womble, muck, and sneedball are nothing to him. Such glorious escapades. Such characters—think Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong. You’ll laugh aloud."

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

"'Four walls, straight down. Four corners, neat and square.' Virginia Lee Burton’s rhythmic words in this and her other books still live in the brain box after all these years, undoubtedly one of the reasons I’m drawn to writing for children."

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne with illustrations by E. H. Shepard

"I wrote a newspaper column for thirteen years and once asked readers if I stuck a mic under their noses what they could recite from memory. Shakespeare, Poe, Robert Service, Emily Dickinson . . . it was astounding. As for me, it would be bits from Pooh stories and whole poems."

The Doings of Little Bear by Frances Margaret Fox

"In this 1915 book that belonged to our mother, Little Bear has a series of adventures, the most memorable being as he searches for a warm spot where his clump of bread dough could rise and decides upon his snoring Papa’s nose. The dough rises higher and higher . . . you get the picture.

Now for some hot chocolate and a good snooze!"

Edith Hope Fine grew up in Michigan, went to Ohio Wesleyan, and now lives near San Diego. Her two sons and four grands live nearby. She likes making soup, swimming, knitting, and baking. Because she composts, her yard has the happiest worms in all North County and is a rabid recycler. Edith loves words, reading, and writing. She hates anchovies and shopping. Sleepytime Me, her seventeenth book, came out two days ago—with delicious illustrations by Christopher Denise. Edith's other award-winning titles include Under the Lemon Moon; Water, Weed, and Wait; Armando and the Blue Tarp School (a California Young Reader nominee); CryptoMania! Teleporting into Greek and Latin with the CryptoKids; two Nitty-Gritty Grammar Guides; and Cricket at the Manger. She’s working on an eBook for beginners on writing for children, a student workbook for Cryptomania! (with 300 basic roots—yay), and more picture books. Visit her online at www.edithfine.com and on Facebook and Pinterest. 

Sleepytime Me by Edith Hope Fine

Illustrated by Christopher Denise

Random House (May 27, 2014)

ISBN 978-0449810620

Splashy sunset paints the sky. Shy moon tiptoes, climbs up high . . . Daylight is fading and night is drawing in. It's time for bed. A drowsy child observes the wide world settling down, coming ever closer to home until at last there are good-night hugs and kisses for this little sleepyhead. Richly painted, evocative scenes illuminate the text, imbuing the whole with mystery and a sense of comfort and warmth, and making this a bedtime story to treasure for all time.

The Little Crooked Bookshelf

Dream Animals
A Bedtime Journey
by Emily Winfield Martin

What it's all about . . .
Little ones are spirited into dreamland by a menagerie of furred, finned, and feathered creatures.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf . . .
We are huuuuuge fans of Emily Winfield Martin’s work here at the Cottage. Here, she has let her imagination (and impressive artistic talents) run wild!

Our favorite lines . . .
You only have to close your eyes/And when you snuggle in…/You’ll be carried to your dream tonight/On wing or paw or fin.

Our favorite illustration . . .

From Dream Animals. Copyright 2013 by Emily Winfield Martin.

Why kids will love it . . .
How could you not be mesmerized by scenes of leaping foxes, diving narhwals, elfin hollows, and mermaid tea parties? Little ones will look forward to this enchanting bedtime read, and to imagining their very own dream animal.

Why grown-ups will love it . . .
A soothing, gorgeous read-aloud, and a brand-new bedtime story with old-fashioned charm. Like the magical animals it celebrates, this book is sure to usher generations of sleepyheads into dreamland.

The Crooked Truth

Jamie's Crooked Truth: Lies, Whizzpoppers, and Bedtime Reading

So you know those reading logs that your kids take home from school? The ones for recording how many minutes they’ve read? Confession: On occasion, I’ve fudged those minutes. Or (cough) lied.

This is BAD.

So VERY bad.

Because a.) I’m a children’s book author, and b.) there’s nothing more energizing to a child’s imagination than reading books, and c.) hello, I lied to a teacher!

Here’s the truth. My boys are nine and seven. When they were younger, we read before bed every night. Their favorite bedtime picks evolved from Goodnight Moon to Taking Care of My Ears (at age three, my oldest was obsessed with books about the human body) to SkippyJon Jones. Then came longer stories, like Frog and Toad, Judy Moody, and Charlotte’s Web. The boys stacked up their favorites, and snuggling under the covers, we often read several books a night.

So what happened?

For one, our schedules became busier. Now we had soccer and Scouts and swimming lessons, homework and more homework, playing with friends, eating dinner, taking baths, and crashing to bed. Somewhere along the way, our bedtime reading become sporadic.

Of course, the boys read independently. But on those especially hectic days, the books never left their backpacks.

Then one evening, we began to read The BFG by Roald Dahl. The Big Friendly Giant quickly charmed the boys with his twitch-tickling manner of speaking and funny way of seeing the world. They hung on his every word.

And the chapter about Sophie and the BFG whizzpopping? Well, you simply haven’t lived until you’ve read the “Frobscottle and Whizzpoppers” chapter to kids! Were finer words ever written? It’s the single best chapter in children’s literature!

That one golden phizzwizard of a book resurrected our consistent, nightly bedtime reading. Because the boys looked forward to it, we made the time. I stopped fudging the minutes in the reading log. Now the boys read more and longer than ever before.

It’s true. Just like the BFG’s bottles of dreams, books contain magic. And who wouldn’t want a little of that before bed every night?

 
FIVE BEDTIME READING TIPS:

1. Kid’s choice. Let your child choose the book (or at least approve it). Reading should be a treat, not a chore. 

2. You read to me, I read to you. Alternate reading pages or chapters with your child. If your children mispronounce a word, don’t correct them immediately. After reading the entire sentence, kids will often figure out the word on their own.

3. The more, the merrier. Bedtime reading is a bonding experience for the whole family. Short mysteries like The Hardy Boys or Encyclopedia Brown are fun to solve together. 

4. The three strikes, you’re out rule. My boys are, erm, energetic. So we came up with a rule. If I have to stop reading three times because the monkeys are jumping on the bed or talking through the story, I put the book away for the night. This has only happened once. Usually at strike two, they settle down.

5. Make bedtime reading an Event. Reading is theater. Change your voice for different characters, whisper at the quiet parts, ask questions, and close the book at cliff-hangers. You’ll leave your children begging for more.

~ Jamie