Sleep Tight, Snow White

July 15, 2017
Fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme characters help young children go to sleep in this beautiful bedtime book.In simple rhyming verse Arena bids good night to a host of well-known characters: "Sleep tight, / Snow White. / Seven dwarves / say good night"; "Rest your head, / Little Red. / Forget the Wolf. / It's time for bed." Some of the rhymes have a slight tongue-in-cheek bent, as in: "Don't rough it, / Little Miss Muffet. / Fluff a pillow-- / chuck the tuffet!" And one rhyme may raise the eyebrows of feminist readers: "Want a fella, / Cinderella? / Eight hours' sleep / will make you bella." In all, 15 different characters make an appearance; most are female except for Prince Charming, Little Boy Blue, who make solo appearances, and Hansel, Jack, and Beast, who appear with Gretel, Jill, and Beauty, respectively. Each character or character duo is given a full two-page spread, illustrated in a gloriously exuberant style with an equally vibrant palette by Alvarez. The characters each sport different hair and skin colors in a range of hues. If little ones are not yet familiar with the fairy tales and nursery rhymes alluded to, use this as an excuse to introduce them to what could be called a cultural common language. Pair this with Janet and Allan Ahlberg's classic Each Peach Pear Plum (1978) for a multiracial update. A visual bedtime treat. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)

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December 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-This collection of short poems is uniformly composed of rhyming couplets, and each one offers a succinct look at the nighttime rituals of familiar fairy-tale characters. For example, "Want a fella, /Cinderella?/Eight hours' sleep/will make you bella." One poem advises the Princess and her teddy bear Pea stacked atop a pile of colorful mattresses that "If there's a lump, just let it be," though if the princess had been content to ignore the lump under her mattress, her true heritage would never have been discovered. Each poem is expanded upon by a two-page digital illustration done in rich colors to depict a detailed scene and soft lines and shapes that reinforce the quiet tone. Alvarez uses a variety of skin tones to depict the familiar characters and creates a diverse cast of expressive people and animals to populate each fairy-tale world. VERDICT A whimsical collection of poems suitable to be read aloud even to very young children; the depth of the illustrations will provide more engagement for older, independent readers.-Kelly Topita, Anne Arundel County Public Library, MD

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