Honesdale, PA: Wordsong. ISBN: 1563971801.
This is a collection of poems about where different animals sleep at night. The animals range from a pet cat to a mountain goat. It�s hard to tell if this book is made up of separate poems, or if it�s just one long poem. The entire thing is done in rhyme. The poems simply tell about where different animals sleep.
The poems don�t have a lot of figurative language. There are a few metaphors and that seems to be it. For instance, the ladybug has �a blanket of stars� (15) and the brown bear has �blankets of brown� referring to the bear cubs (Dotlich 24). All of the poems have the same rhythm, with slight variations in the introductory poem and the final poem. �Plenty of repetition makes this a good choice for sharing with young children� (School Library Journal). Each poem begins with the name of the animal repeated twice, then the question �where do you sleep?� Each poem ends with the same four lines, �I cuddle up tight/with sweet dreams of the wild/and that�s where I sleep/sleepy child.� All of the poems have rhyming words such as �air� and �chair� in the poem about the black spider (Dotlich 12). Some alliteration is also used. For instance, the red ladybugs �cling to the clover� (15) and the sheep sleep under �starry skies� (Dotlich 22).
The poems have words that appeal to the senses, mostly sight, but some touch as well. For instance, the caterpillar sleeps in a robe of �silky thread� (Dotlich 14). The ladybug�s rose is �sprinkled light with dew� (Dotlich 15). We can imagine what each of these things would feel like because of the language used to describe them.
There are no index or table of contents in this collection. The poems aren�t grouped in any particular order except for the first one that has a child going to bed, and the last one that has the child finally asleep.
The illustrations complement the poems very well. �Dodge's cozy, shimmering colored-pencil illustrations match Dotlich's quiet, tender mood well� (Booklist). Some get their own page and others are fit around the text on a page. For instance, on the page with the poem about where the gray mouse sleeps, we see the mouse getting ready to go to sleep on a quilt. This is fit on the bottom of the page.
These poems will definitely appeal to younger children. They will enjoy the cute pictures of all the animals and will enjoy finding out where these different animals sleep. This would make an excellent bedtime book.
Amazon.com. 1996. Booklist. Available from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/1563971801//qid=1097450464/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-7641453-
7863356?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews. Accessed 7 October 2004.
Amazon.com. 1996. School Library Journal. Available from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/1563971801//qid=1097450464/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-7641453-
7863356?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews. Accessed 7 October 2004.
