Monkey: Not Ready for Bedtime

Having previously adjusted to kindergarten and a new sibling, Monkey struggles with falling asleep in this simultaneously funny and sympathetic story. Brown again uses childlike handwriting, pencil scribbles, and splotches of paint to give the sense that Monkey is telling his own story. Monkey’s complaints will be familiar to many families (“I’m thirsty,” “I’m not tired”), as will his parents’ efforts to help (warm milk, a backrub) and the effects of not enough sleep (a young lion stares at Monkey with concern the next day—he has fallen asleep mid-swing on the playground). Counting dinosaurs at bedtime leads to raucous fun (“He flies with the Dimorphodons. He rocks with T. rex”), an outpouring of energy that sends Monkey to sleep. Brown’s attention to detail in his gouache and colored pencil images elevates an otherwise familiar struggling-with-sleep story. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)