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Summary
Summary
In the tradition of Margaret Wise Brown, Mary Lyn Ray presents a hushed picture book about the rhythm of the natural world on a small farm as all creatures prepare for sleep. Artist Christopher Silas Neal's classic illustrations quiet even the most restless little night owls with familiar childlike imagery and the comforts of routine. All is well, it reminds them. Now is the time for dreams.
Author Notes
Mary Lyn Ray was born in Louisiana in 1946. She is a conservationist who worked in museums for fifteen years and as a professional consultant in land protection and historic preservation. She is also the author of several picture books for children including Christmas Farm, Pumpkins, Shaker Boy, Welcome, Brown Bird, and Stars.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Ray's (Stars) lullaby reads like a sequel to Goodnight, Moon, with the same offbeat humor and incantatory language extending to the farm and the forest beyond it. Animals are seen settling down for the night while a young bed goer in the farmhouse mirrors their actions. "Somewhere a beaver weaves a bed in a bog,/ Somewhere a bear finds a bed in a log." Neal, in a reprise of the remarkable cutaway views of his Over and Under the Snow, shows the bulky bear at rest, while on the following page, the girl reads underneath her blankets, the mound of bedclothes echoing the curves of bear and log. The retro-style mixed-media artwork is created in the blues and roses of twilight, and the action swings between outside and inside. Repeated, pleasingly surreal lines of verse convey the sense of drifting into slumber: "Somewhere a worm sleeps in the dirt./ Somewhere a pocket sleeps in a skirt." The worm emits delicate a row of z's; so does the pocket. It's a keeper. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
This soothing bedtime book follows various animals' evening activities, while inside a house a young girl mimics their actions (building a beaver lodge out of toys, hiding under her blankets like a bear in a log) before falling asleep. Though the farm animals one expects from the title do get a mention ("Cows and horses on the hill hear their pasture grow more still. / Chickens roost where chickens will"), most of the creatures are from the nearby woodland. In Messner's Over and Under the Snow (rev. 1/12), illustrator Neal showed his expertise at depicting realistic-looking forest animals; here, many of those same animals (owl, mice, beaver, fox, bear, and bee) fittingly appear more cuddly, with sleepy expressions and droopy eyelids. Ray's (Stars, rev. 11/11) lyrical, rhyming text sometimes mimics the playfulness of Goodnight Moon: "Somewhere a worm sleeps in the dirt. / Somewhere a pocket sleeps in a skirt." The flat, retro-looking art also evokes that classic: on one spread the girl's bedroom recalls the "great green room," from the stars outside her window to her bedside clock and slippers to the lamp casting vertical cones of light. In terms of color, however, Neal's art couldn't be more different: the book begins at dusk, the sky slowly going from pink to blue to black and starry, the shadowy gray tones of the illustrations a consummate match for the restful mood of the text. jennifer m. brabander (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In this sleepy-time read, a little girl gazes out a farmhouse window, thinking of how somewhere a bee makes a bed in a rose, a beaver weaves a bed in a bog, a bear finds a bed in a log, and so on. Each of the girl's musings is illustrated with a view of the sleepy, shelter-seeking animal and then contrasted with the girl's own similar preparations for bed. For example, the bear in a log is followed by the little girl burrowing under the covers to read. The book then moves softly toward sleep, as the girl thinks about how trees sleep, and a rooster perches on a sliver of moon. The final section bids adieu to all the animals we have met (Go to sleep, little fish, etc.) and ends with the girl's mother leaning over the now-sleeping child: Go to sleep, little ear. The blue-hued mixed-media illustrations soothingly depict a farm as it moves from dusk to night and bring a hush to the book and no doubt its readers as well.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2014 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-On a quiet farm a variety of creatures are preparing for sleep: gray mice hide under roots, a beaver makes a bed in a bog, and a little girl prepares to go to sleep. The sweet storyline and crafty wordsmithing combine for a work that children will love to listen to before going to bed. Such lines as "Somewhere a story goes to sleep in a book/ Somewhere a worm sleeps in the dirt" keeps the listener engaged. Narration by Maria Cabezas is rhythmic and calming, perfect for a relaxing story time or bedtime. Young listeners will enjoy hearing about animals' bedtime routines while the little girl prepares for her bedtime alongside them. This is a home run with a cozy feel that rivals Goodnight Moon. -VERDICT Recommended for all collections.-Jessica Gilcreast, Bedford High School, NH © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Ray and Neal tackle the tried-and-true theme of bedtime on the farm.Ray's work does have some lovely turns of phrase; "Somewhere a pocket sleeps in a skirt" and a reference to "minutes that sleep inside clocks" are standouts. But as a girl is tucked into bed while the farm and natural world settle down around her, almost-rhymes and spotty rhythms undermine the text's alternately lilting and halting efforts toward lullaby. Take the line "Somewhere a fox calls her pups to their denas somewhere shadows tuck a house in." It almost works, but not quite. Meanwhile, Neal's mixed-media illustrations have a somewhat retro style and are appropriately dark and soothing, with soft visual textures and forms on each spread. Illustrations also strive to extend the text by resisting redundancy; for example, the line "Somewhere a bear" is accompanied by an illustration of a bear in the wild, but the page turn "finds a bed in a log" paired not with that same bear but a teddy bear and the girl burrowed under blankets. Perhaps a consistent continuation of this conceit, marrying nature scenes with parallel scenes in the girl's home ( la the Dillons' interpretation of Margaret Wise Brown's Two Little Trains, 2001) would have succeeded. It's difficult indeed for a bedtime book to stand out, and this one doesn't quite deliver. (Picture book. 2-4) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
