Sweet Dreamers

K-Gr 3—Lyrical language and stunning, semi-realistic digital artwork strike a serene balance between dreamland and the natural world. Atmospheric spreads and imagery-packed verses depict a variety of sleeping animals in their habitats. "The humpback whale/dreams vertically... Balancing on her head/or the tip of her tail, /this ballerina nosedives/into sleep." Some of the entries lean more toward the whimsical: "Slung like a hammock, /the sloth dreams/of spring-loaded sprinters, /of rockets blasting off, /of pump-action spinning tops./When the stopwatch starts, /our dreaming racer/doesn't move/an inch." Contrasting dusky hues with bright oranges and greens, Simler's handsomely composed images expertly use lines to create texture and depth. Most animals are depicted with both a full-body image and a zoomed-in shot. Wordless double-page renderings of various biomes are interspersed throughout, providing opportunity to discuss species' habitats. A glowing full moon adorns many of the spreads, adding continuity and building toward the final scene, where a child dreams of interacting with these animals "beneath the moon." VERDICT Share this exquisite offering as an introduction to the sleep habits of different animals, an imagination-stirring example for poetry writing, or a soothing bedtime story to inspire sweet dreams.—Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

Do animals dream? Whimsically pondering what could be in the minds of a menagerie of sleepers, Simler uses descriptive language to cleverly evoke dreams drawn from animals' distinguishing characteristics and habitats: "She settles on a rock, mimics a pebble, and sleeps like a stone. The octopus dreams in disguise." "Tight inside his twisting shell, the snail stretches to the bottom of his bed. His dreams spiral out." Each slumbering animal receives an illustrated spread accompanied by a brief prose poem. Wordless nighttime landscapes punctuate these reveries, languorously extending the book's rhythmic pace. Staticky scratched lines of color highlighted with electric orange against deep inky backgrounds offer an energizing contrast to more common depictions of rest, subtly reminding readers that dreaming, too, is an action. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)