Sleepy, the Goodnight Buddy

Starred review from June 18, 2018
Top talents Daywalt (The Day the Crayons Quit) and Campbell (Hug Machine) take on the familiar story of the reluctant sleeper, and things escalate quickly. Presented with the eponymous stuffed toy by his exasperated parents, ace bedtime avoider Roderick “couldn’t decide whether it looked more like a moose or more like a bear.” While Sleepy may seem goofy at first glance, bedtime proves him to be an even more insistent and successful procrastinator than his new owner. Sleepy never blinks (“No matter where Roderick put him, he could still FEEL Sleepy looking at him”), he’s incredibly touchy (“Well, I can’t sleep even if you’re a little mad”), and his annoying ruminations (“You ever wonder what it all means?”) fill a cascade of dialogue balloons until the increasingly exhausted Roderick loses his temper—and the reader begins to wonder who, exactly, is trolling whom. As Roderick realizes he’s met his match, Campbell’s digitally enhanced watercolor vignettes model perfect comic pacing and a laugh-generating repertoire of character expressions for both the out-of-control Sleepy and his increasingly frustrated bedmate. Ages 3–5.

Starred review from September 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-Young Roderick will do almost anything to delay going to bed, wearing down his poor parents with questions and requests. So they decide to buy him a goodnight buddy to assist him in falling asleep. However, this new buddy seems to do everything but help Roderick fall asleep! Will his parents' plan ultimately work or will there be many more sleepless nights ahead? This hilarious picture book from Daywalt, author of The Day the Crayons Quit, is sure to please children of all ages and tickle those who also find it difficult to go to bed. The familiar requests for a glass of water and just one more story will ring true with readers, but they will laugh out loud at what happens next in this tale. Roderick gets a taste of his own medicine, but it is cranked up to another level. His new little buddy is so pesky and adorable that kids will be wishing for one of their own. The text is comedic with the conversations between characters displayed in different colored speech bubbles, making it easy for kids to follow which character is saying what. Campbell's digitally enhanced watercolor paintings are large and perfectly illustrate the various emotions in the story. Especially expressive are the characters' eyes, which show a range of feeling from happy to sad, and from frustrated to just plain worn out. VERDICT A first purchase; a definite yes if one is looking for a laugh-out-loud read-aloud.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2018
Will a goodnight buddy help restless Roderick fall asleep?The opening text cuts to the chase and declares, "Roderick hated going to bed." Campbell's accompanying watercolor illustration shows a pajama-clad boy with his back to readers (and parents). He looks away from his toys and casts a defiant look over his shoulder at his parents, whose bodies are only partially visible on the page as they loom over him. Humorous text and art proceed to share his various stalling techniques, including his intentional provocation of a litany of "reasons why he couldn't have a pony." Roderick is resistant when his parents introduce him to Sleepy, "a goodnight buddy to help him sleep." The stuffed animal looks like a cross between a bear and a moose with enormous eyes that stare at Roderick until he finally tosses him in his closet. He's shocked and exclaims, "You're alive!" when Sleepy protests. Sleepy then turns the tables on Roderick and wears him out with a series of demands and protestations against going to sleep. Lo and behold, an exhausted Roderick finally collapses in his bed, but not before Sleepy's antics and Roderick's responses to them can delight readers--though some may object to a cheap attempt for laughs when Roderick reads aloud a book entitled The Witch's Booty, about "a witch with a very big butt," and a rapid-fire barrage of variants on "freak" in the dialogue. Roderick is a pink-skinned, big-eyed boy with a mop of dark curls.Bedtime-bookshelf fodder. (Picture book. 4-6)

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September 1, 2018
Preschool-G Roderick will think of any excuse not to go to bed at night. So his parents decide to get him a goodnight buddy to help him sleep: Sleepy, a wide-eyed toy who looks something like a bear, something like a moose. Turns out the talkative stuffed companion really resists bedtime, too. Slumber doesn't come, and now Sleepy is thirsty. Then he needs to pee; then he forgot to brush his teeth. He needs stories, a blankie, and a snack (and then to brush his teeth again, of course). Young Roderick's facial expressions get more and more frustrated as Sleepy's demands escalate, while alternating purple speech bubbles show the back-and-forth conversation between the two. Finally, in an arm-waving, open-mouthed howling, Roderick screams: Sleepy!! It's time for bed! Now go to sleep! Digitally enhanced watercolor done in backgrounds of grays and blues underscore the two characters' convoluted efforts to put off bedtime. The author of the popular The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) has another winner, this time for sleepy youngsters. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Daywalt's Crayon series were best-sellers, and this picture book, on a perennially popular topic, is primed to send lots of kids off to dreamland.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)