Lena's Sleep Sheep by Anita Lobel (review)

Little Lena's usual bedtime routine of sheep-counting hits a hitch when the sheep panic at the full moon ("There's a round monster in the window making faces at us! . . . He looks hungry and ready for a sheep snack!"). Lena cleverly advises them to dress up in costumes to fool the moon, but the unwieldy outfits cause chaos during the nightly lineup. A passing cloud that covers the moon saves the day—er, night—as Lena convinces the sheep that they have scared the moon away, so they finally take their proper bedtime positions while Lena counts herself to sleep. The gentle plot and quiet cadence of the text make this bedtime book a effective soporific that may actually induce slumber in its young audience. There are occasional moments of lyricism ("Light as air, they rose up to form a nice, neat line above the bed") in Lobel's streamlined text ,and the fairly simple vocabulary and generally short sentences may even make it accessible to older brothers or sisters who are helping put smaller siblings to bed. The gouache and watercolor art is cozy and attractive, with a folk-art solidity, and Lobel's slightly smudgy layering and blending of colors gives depth and richness to the pictures. Lena's mop-top of blondish-brown curls is echoed in the sheep's white curly coats, and overall the artwork evokes a feeling of nocturnal peace. Besides bedtime reading, this might also lend itself as a closing title for an evening library storytime session.