Sleep through the night by Byll and Beth Stephen. Illus. by Simon Howe

Every parent’s wish, of sleeping through the night materialises in this disarming rhyming tale of why humans need children to sleep. Hopefully the sleepy verses and calming repetitive words will help the child along its way, and the reasons behind the necessity of sleep will form the reason behind this nightly ritual.

The authors cleverly compare our species with others, creating a platform of facts which emphasise that all creatures need their sleep, but not all in the same way.

So we see possums on the rood - a nocturnal animal which does its sleeping in the day, horses sleeping standing up, contrasting with humans who need to be prone, sea creatures sleeping with their eyes open, meerkats sleeping tumbled together, large flying birds that sleep on the wing, giraffes that are quick naps, while some creatures sleep upside down. Each creature has a different way of sleeping and the text often tells the reader why this is so. Giraffes need to be aware of predators, flying birds cover large distance, meerkats seem to need to bond. While other animals’ need for sleep in a different way begs the question from younger readers - why?

Each creature is different and children will become aware of these differences through the verse and the illustration accompanying it. In this way they will get a double take at how other species sleep, underscoring their own need for sleep. A sleeping child picture on each page further stresses this important part of our daily routine.  And all the rituals of bedtime are there to help the child see this as an important part of its routine: a comfortable bed, parents reading a story, it is evening and the stuffed toys are waiting.

A Youtube clip of Teeny Tiny Stevies song which incorporates part of this book can be accessed here.

Byll amd Beth Stephen have a media presence with their website which can be found here.

Themes: Sleep, Family, Animal traits, Rituals.

Fran Knight