Bedtime is Canceled by Cece Meng, Illustrated by Aurélie Neyret
This is a great story about the mayhem that takes place when a brother and sister write up a notice that "Bedtime is Canceled"...and it gets into the wrong hands! My six and four year olds loved it, and I appreciate the media references (there are newspaper and television reporters, and a lot of texting and e-mailing going on in the story. Kids these days can relate to that.) Both the story and illustrations are very funny.
Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
In this story, a not-so-sleepy little princess asks "Does everything in the world go to sleep?" and learns all about the sleep habits of different animals. I could totally connect to the parents (not because they're royal, of course) and their patient attempts to coax their daughter to bed every time she insisted she wasn't tired: "They nodded their heads and said she didn't have to go to sleep. But she had to put her put her pajamas on," and "Her parents said that was fine. But she should wash her face and brush her teeth." If only I could be that patient about it! The illustrations are beautiful, and as the jacket says "this bedtime book insipres a gentle fellowship with the natural world..."
Mama I Can't Sleep by Brigitte Raab, Illustrated by Manuela Olten
This title is coincidentally quite similar to the one above, only this time it's a non-royal little one trying to convince her mom that she can't sleep, while attempting to copy the nocturnal manoeuvres of different animals. Oddly enough, she has some difficulty sleeping while standing on one leg like a stork, keeping her eyes open like a fish, or hanging upside down like a bat. My girls had a good laugh over the silly things this girl tried.
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Any of these books would be a worthwhile addition to your bedtime story collection.
