A 2013 Caldecott Honor Book In this magical bedtime story, the lyrical narrative echoes a Runaway Bunny – like cadence: “Does everything in the world go to sleep?” the little girl asks. In sincere and imaginative dialogue between a not-at-all sleepy child and understanding parents, the little girl decides “in a cocoon of sheets, a nest of blankets,” she is ready to sleep, warm and strong, just like a tiger. The Caldecott Honor artist Pamela Zagarenski’s rich, luminous mixed-media paintings effervesce with odd, charming details that nonsleepy children could examine for hours. A rare gem. Featured Sketches Only after I can really feel the book do I then take the text and break it down into working pages… and imagine the flow of the book in tiny little sketches. Click here for a larger image While "becoming" a character in a story, I need to feel how they feel. I need to see how they see and hear what they hear. I read the story over and over and over again... Click here for a larger image While working on Sleep Like a Tiger , I kept hearing the words from the poem by William Blake, "Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright, in the forests of the night..." I just had to work it into the book--lots of little hidden secrets. Click here for a larger image PreS-Gr 1-The common theme of a child not ready for bed receives fresh treatment here. When a young girl repeatedly declares that she is not sleepy, her parents remain calm. She dutifully dresses in pajamas and washes up. After climbing into bed, she again proclaims that she is wide awake and questions her parents about how things in the world go to sleep. They patiently respond by describing the sleeping habits of familiar animals. After they kiss her goodnight and turn out the light, the child incorporates her parents' descriptions of the various animals into her nighttime routine. Like the strong tiger, she, too, falls fast asleep. The narrative flows well as the mood becomes increasingly tranquil. There is much dialogue in the first portion of the story. These conversations between daughter and parents are realistic. Young listeners will identify with the child's desire to remain awake. Zagarenski's stylized artwork shines with interesting details. For instance, the family is portrayed as royalty. The artist's distinctive spreads are a combination of digitally created art and mixed-media paintings on wood. The artist incorporates many patterns into the characters' clothing, rooms, blankets, and pillows. Her attention to detail can be found again on the endpapers where primitive circuslike train cars, a tiger riding proudly atop one of them, appear in sunlight and later in moonlight. The dust jacket depicting the sleeping youngster curled up beside a dozing tiger ushers in the gentle and calm mood of this memorable picture book.-Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. *Starred Review* A familiar childhood complaint (and frequent picture-book story line) becomes touched with enchantment in this luminous offering. It begins with “Once there was a little girl who didn’t want to sleep.” The girl’s parents say she doesn’t have to sleep but insist she put on her pj’s anyway. Once in bed (though not tired!), she asks about how animals sleep, and her parents talk to her about cats and bats, whales and snails. And when that conversation is finished, and she’s still not sleepy, her parents say she can stay up all night (in bed), but “the little girl’s bed was warm and cozy, a cocoon of sheets, a nest of blankets.” She finds a warm spot like a cat, folds her arms like the wings of a bat, curls up like a snail, and falls asleep like the animal who sleeps to be strong—the tiger. Logue’s lovely, poetic text, which is high flying but never highfalutin, twins well with Caldecott Honor illustrator Zagarenski’s inventive mixed-media artwork. As they did in Red Sings from Treetops (2011), Zagarenski’s characters wear crowns as they make their way through magical lands whose details have both weight and whimsy, the latter coming mostly through sweet details, though the full-page picture of the girl cuddled in a bird’s nest more than charms. This may put little ones to sleep, but they’ll have a lot to look at before they close their eyes. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ilene Cooper "This deeply satisfying story offers what all children crave when letting go--security and a trusted companion." — Kirkus, starred review "Touched with enchantment . . . This may put little ones to sleep, but they'll have a lot to look at before they close their eyes." — Booklist, starred review "Zagarenski's dreamy mixed-media illustrations are as calm and comforting as Logue's understated prose." — Horn Book "Zagarenski's paintings take Logue's story to places marvelously distant in thought and time; each spread holds treasures to find even after several readings." — Publishers Weekly