Lena's Sleep Sheep

June 3, 2013
After Lena’s parents tuck her into bed, a conventional scenario gives way to a humorous fantasy. Needing help to fall asleep, she bids her “woolly friends” to come out. “I’m ready to count you now,” says the curly-haired girl. But the sheep are frightened by the “round monster in the window” (the full moon, pictured making a grotesque face) and hide under Lena’s bed. At her suggestion, they dress up in costumes so the moon “will not know you are sheep.” This creates a new conundrum: they are so “clumsy in their costumes” that they can’t line up to be counted—until Lena finds a solution that helps her finally get to sleep. Her earnest, tactical conversation with the sheep takes some amusing turns; when they lament that the moon “looks hungry and ready for a sheep snack,” she says, “He’s not hungry. He’s already full.” Lobel’s (Nini Lost and Found) gouache and watercolor art adds to the story’s offbeat humor; the sheep’s vivid disguises include cat masks, tutus, sailor outfits, and more. An inventive and slightly raucous bedtime tale. Ages 2–5.

June 15, 2013
When Lena's parents tuck her into bed, she inadvertently unleashes a bit of ovine chaos by asking them to leave the curtains open so she can see the full moon. Lena loves the moon, and the picture hanging above her bed suggests that she loves sheep, too. When her parents leave her bedroom, she calls for the sheep to come out so she can count them and lull herself to sleep. They are afraid of the moon, though, and think it looks like a monster that is "ready for a sheep snack." Even though she's sleepy, Lena is patient and tells the sheep they can disguise themselves in her clothing to trick the moon. Lobel's soft watercolor-and-gouache paintings take on a frenetic energy in this scene, as the sheep in Lena's clothing frolicking about seem in desperate need of herding so that they might provide Lena with a restful, orderly parade through her imagination. Then, one sheep notices that clouds obscure the moon and thinks the monster is gone. Reassured, the sheep line up, and Lena counts them to sleep. The pitch-perfect ending finds the moon, not monstrous at all, peeking from behind the clouds to say, "Good night, silly sheep. And good night, lovely Lena." A lovely "Going-to-Bed Book" indeed. (Picture book. 2-5)

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July 1, 2013

PreS-K-Every evening Lena counts her sheep to help her fall asleep, but tonight they are afraid of the "round monster" in the window. Lena tries to explain that it's just the Moon, but those silly creatures won't listen, so she convinces them to dress up in disguises to scare it away. When a bit of cloud covers it, the sheep finally line up so she can count them properly. This simple story lulls readers gently toward slumber with a clever heroine and a simple premise. The beautiful gouache and watercolor illustrations are classic Lobel, from the detailed design of Lena's flowered footboard to the clever layout, which maintains separate illustration spaces on the right- and left-hand sides until the final spread-a satisfying, expansive picture of Lena's sheep flying overhead as she drifts off to sleep.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2013
Preschool-K The full moon shines brightly through Lena's bedroom window as she calls the sheep that help her fall asleep. Afraid of the round monster of a moon, they mill about until Lena sends them to her closet, where they disguise themselves in her clothes. When the moon goes behind a cloud, she informs the sheep that they have frightened the monster away. In the end, they leap through the air in a line above Lena's head as she counts herself to sleep. There's something beguilingly childlike about this simple story, in which the girl takes charge, reassuring her silly sheep that the moon won't eat them, and when that doesn't work, managing their fears in a playful way. The gouache-and-watercolor illustrations create cozy, yet lively scenes that are full of color, pattern, and movement. A quiet, imaginative tale that is just right for reading aloud at bedtime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
After Mama and Papa kiss her goodnight, Lena tells her sleep sheep that she's ready to start counting them. But the big round "monster" (moon) in the window "sca-a-a-a-a-red" them into hiding. How will Lena ever get to sleep if her sheep won't come out? Playful folk artstyle gouache and watercolor illustrations provide a pleasant backdrop for this simple bedtime story.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)