Books for Sleepy Time

Today I’m sharing two perfect picture books to read at bedtime. The first is brand new, and the second – well, we’re tossing confetti and passing out cupcakes to celebrate its One Year Birthday!

Themes:  nature, bedtime, poetry

 

Northwoods Lullaby 
by Mary Casanova; illus. by Jordan Sundberg
32 pages; ages 0-8
Univ of Minnesota Press, 2026

It’s time to sing a lullaby,
a pine bough swaying lullaby, 
a lady’s slipper lullaby …
a lullaby for you.

From loons to foxes, bear cubs to peepers, this book takes readers on a gentle evening walk through the Northwoods. The poetry is rhythmic, soft, and soothing, and too soon the walk ends and we’re being tucked into bed.

 

 

 What I like about this book: I picked up this book because of the nature connection: Northwoods animals! That would have been enough, but there’s the lyrical language. The words beg to be sung to a lullaby tune – and indeed, when you go to the publisher’s website there is a link to listen to it. Then there is the art! Jordan Sundberg’s collage illustrations capture the softness of a lullaby, and the stillness of a frog pond as spring unfurls. She used a combination of physical and digital tools – scanning her watercolor washes, ink splatters, and even fabrics (for the texture) into her computer and then layering them into the illustration. 

 

 

This Is Not My Bed! 
by Jennifer Dupuis; illus. by Carol Schwartz     
32 pages; ages 4-8
Tilbury House Publishers, 2025

 

Time for bed. Here is my polka-dot pillow, but what is under my blanket? Sharp sticks, mushy mud, loads of logs…

No thank you! That is not MY bed! Page by page this young camper looks at different styles of beds, from a spider web to an eagle’s nest, from a coyote den to a woodchuck’s burrow. Jennifer Dupuis provides lists of bedding materials, some crunchy, some hard as a rock until our camper finally finds a happy ending.

What I like about this book: After reading – and loving – Jennifer’s earlier book, This is Not My Lunchbox, I knew I had to read this one. I was not disappointed. The fact is, no matter what sort of animal we are, we need a safe and cozy spot to sleep. I like how Jennifer compares different nesting/sleeping spots and shows that what’s comfy for one animal may not be the right place for another. And I love the attitude that shines through with the repeated statement: “I will NOT sleep here! This is not my bed!” I also like the way she uses the page turn to give kids an opportunity to guess who might sleep in such a spot before revealing it on the next spread. A fun good-night read with a dash of science.

Beyond the Books:

Listen to the Northwoods Lullaby, sung as a lullaby and listen to Jordan talk about creating illustrations at the University of Minnesota Press website.

Go to a spot of nature for an evening listening walk. What animals do you hear? In my neighborhood this month we were hearing birds singing their good night songs, and night-active frogs (and owls) singing out their “hello, we’re here!” greetings.

What kind of bed do you sleep in? Write down a list of the materials that make up your bed. 

Create a collage to show your nesting/sleeping spot, or that of an animal living in your area. 

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

PB & Jellyfish?

The Secrets of the Jellies: Amazing Jellyfish and Their Surprising Talents   

by Karen Jameson; illus by Marie Hermansson

40 pages; ages 5-8

Chronicle Books, 2026

themes: ocean animals, animal adaptations, STEM

Jellies pulse, jellies ride, gracing waters as they glide

Using poetic lines, Karen Jameson takes readers on a field trip to a jellyfish aquarium. On each spread, she focuses on a single aspect of jellyfish-iness. For example, they have no bones! They come in a variety of shapes and colors and sizes. And even though they can feel, they have no brain. Gorgeous illustrations will draw you right into the book, and you’ll wonder how you can spend time with these intriguing animals.

What I like about this book: It’s fun, engaging, and all science. Plus, there’s extensive back matter. A section on Jellyfish facts expands on the information presented on each spread. Another section gives insight into jelly research and their role in ocean ecosystems. The last four pages are a “Meet the Jellies” extravaganza! Sort of like a condensed field guide to cool jellyfish you might meet at an aquarium. 

This is such a fun book to read, that I had to ask Karen a couple of questions:

Me: How did you come to this structure for your book? 

Karen: Here’s the short and sweet answer. As with all my nonfiction books, there was a lot of thought and consideration given as to which key information belonged in the main text. Above all, I wanted readers to “travel" through these pages to an aquarium and experience the awe of an immersive jellyfish exhibit. Readers would wander from room to room (or tank to tank) in a way that felt organic. I also wanted it to be an engaging read-aloud. After composing the stanzas, I simply put them on post-it notes and shifted them around like puzzle pieces to see which order felt right.  Of course, I also ran it past my trusty critique group!

Me: I love the back matter. Can you talk about your research?

Karen: Yes, it is a lot of back matter! It was initially more compact, but grew after we decided to move the side bars to the back and add a “Meet the Jellies” section. I’d been lucky enough to visit the aquarium on multiple occasions (it’s about a 5 hour drive from my home).  However, since I began researching this during the pandemic when Monterey Bay Aquarium was closed, that wasn’t an option. But, I was able to enjoy their incredible online Jelly Cam footage and explore their website for further information.  I then expanded to additional online sources  -  other prominent aquariums, ocean and science sites. Though libraries were closed, I was able to order nonfiction jellyfish books (both adult and kid lit titles) from various sites for secure pick up. More online research of scholarly journals and the like rounded it up.

Though the book was inspired by Monterey Bay Aquarium, the aquarium itself does NOT have all those specific jellyfish, just some. Early on I made the decision to focus on true jellies around the world, of which there are 200+ known varieties. You can visit other cool kinds of jellyfish, such as comb jellies, at Monterrey and other aquariums.

Beyond the Books:

Watch jellyfish with live jellyfish cams! These nettle jellies are at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and these moon jellies are at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Create a jellyfish dance. Stretch and squeeze to move like a jellyfish. If you really want to play the part, create a jellyfish costume using an old umbrella or wide-brimmed hat and strips of cloth or scarves. 

Make a jellyfish out of your handprint, a paper plate, or even coffee filters. Please skip the glitter – it’s not healthy for ocean animals.

Karen is a member of the STEAM Team Books group. You can find out more about her at her at her website at https://karenljameson.com/. You can find more about recently released STEM and STEAM at https://www.steamteambooks.com/

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by Blue Slip Media.

Let it Snow!

We still have a couple weeks before the official “first day of winter” but it can snow any time, so I want to share these fun books today.

theme: snow, snowflakes, STEM

Flurry, Float, and Fly!: The Story of a Snowstorm 

by Laura Purdie Salas; illus by Chiara Fedele 

40 pages; ages 4-7

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025

Clouds lie heavy, gray, and low. From down below, just one wish: Snow!

The kids are waiting, and waiting… they pull out the sled and sit on it and wait some more. Above, the sky is dark with clouds that look like they might bring snow. And above those clouds, the air currents, cold from the north and damp from the south, mix and swirl. “Water vapor clings to dust, begins to build a slushy crust.” From the endpages – autumn leaves at the front, snow at the back – to the rhythmic, rhyming language, this is one fun read-aloud!

What I like about this book: there’s a ton of science in this book, beginning with cloud formation. Readers will learn how a drop freezes and how water vapor clings, forming branches, and how those crystals begin to fall and collect into flakes. Back matter all about The Science of Snow, from the ingredients you need for a snowstorm to flake formation, accompanied by snowflake photos. 

Hello Snow (Board Book)

by Katherine Pryor; illus. by Rose Soini 

24 pages; ages 0-3

Schiffer Kids, 2025

Flakes flutter. Wind swirls.

Parents help two youngsters zip up into their outdoor clothes so they can greet the snow. They slip and slide, make snow angels, and roll snow into a friend. There is so much to explore outside in the cold.

What I like about this book: The rhymes are short and focus on sounds and action. Boots crunch, ice cracks. Activities are perfect for toddlers (and their adults!), and the bright colors bring life to a snowy page.

Beyond the Books:

Go snowflake watching. Make sure you’re dressed warmly and then go outside to watch snowflakes fall. What do they look like when you watch them looking straight ahead? What do they look like when you look up into the sky? Come up with words that show what you see.

Catch snowflakes. You’ll need to put some dark colored paper in the freezer a couple hours before. Then head outside and let flakes land. Some things to do: look at flakes through a magnifying glass; catch flakes at the beginning of the storm and later on to see if they have changed shape and size; try to count how many land on your paper in 10 seconds. 

Build a snowflake using materials at hand: legos, twigs, straws, or cut one out of paper. Remember the two rules of snowflakes: they have six rays and they are symmetrical. Here’s a video showing one way to cut a paper snowflake.

Make a list of five more things you can do to play with snow! Then go do them.

We'll be joining Perfect Picture Book Friday when it resumes after the holidays. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

The Den that Octopus Built

The Den That Octopus Built 

by Randi Sonenshine; illus. by Anne Hunter 

32 pages; ages 4-8

‎Candlewick, 2024

theme: ocean, octopus, homes

This is the ledge of sandstone and lime, 

layered with shells cemented by time, 

that shelters the den that Octopus built.

Octopuses build dens. Not only that, they decorate around the outside – sort of like creating a garden. (Wait… isn’t there a song about that?) This octopus also decorates herself with shells to keep safe from predators, and nurtures her eggs that she keeps safe in her den.

What I like love about this book: I love the way Randi Sonenshine works “cephalopod” into her verse. Because, if kids can toss out long words like brachiosaurus, then cephalopod should be a piece of cake. I also like the way that the end of the book is a new beginning. And I especially like the back matter, where Randi discusses why octopuses is right (not octopi) and tentacles are not. She also talks about octopus suckers, smarts, and their short (not-so-sweet) lives.

I loved this book so much that I just had to reach out and ask Randi a Couple of Questions:

Me: In your author notes you mention that you were inspired by Rita. 

Randi: Yes, I was very fortunate to get an up-close and personal meeting with Rita, the resident Giant Pacific Octopus, at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

meet Rita!

Me: What did you learn from her? and how did you learn it (I imagine observation, but...)

Randi: My encounter with Rita allowed me to experience a lot of what I learned in my research through all of my senses. I watched her incredible powers of transformation in action: she went from a pale smooth, pinkish-purple to a highly textured bright rusty-red as she swam up for our visit. Her texture and color became even more pronounced when I was feeding her and she was “feeling me out” for the first time. It's hard to describe what I felt and sensed during that first “handshake,” to be honest. Feeling her suckers, which were smooth and cool, but not clammy, while looking each other in the eye/eyes was mind-blowing! This sounds a bit corny, but otherworldly is the best way I can describe it. There was a definite sense of cognition on an almost-human level, like a mutual acknowledgement and understanding.  I could sense her intelligence, and that's not something I could have learned from all of my reading, watching, and interviewing. 

Randi shaking hands with Rita

Me: What else can you share about your research for this book?

Randi: I learned so much fascinating information in my research, that I begged for another two pages of back matter. Alas, I didn’t win that battle, but I was able to include a section on hard bottom/cold-water reefs and the need for conservation efforts. I became especially interested in this topic when I interviewed Dr. Danny Gleason, a professor and researcher at Georgia Southern University and Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, (which was the inspiration for the setting and illustrations by Anne Hunter). Cold water reefs aren’t formed from living corals like tropical reefs, but from sediments (sand, mud, and shell-fragments) impacted and cemented over time. That’s what inspired the first lines you quote.

Beyond the Books:

Find out more about octopuses. The best way is to meet one in person at an aquarium, but if you can’t do that, you can check out this video about octopuses.

Make an octopus from a paper plate, or a toilet paper tube. Check out ideas for papercraft octopuses here.

If you were an octopus, what sort of a den would you build? Draw a picture of what your octopus home would look like. I would probably build mine out of pillows and blankets so I could curl up and read a good book!

Randi is a member of #STEAMTeam2024. She’s written other books about animals that build: The Nest That Wren Built  and  The Lodge That Beaver Built. You can find out more about her at her website, www.randishonenshine.com.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.