Sleepyhead by Karma Wilson

Sleepyhead by Karma Wilson, illustrated by John Segal

Rating: 5 stars

We thank Cheerios for helping us find this book. Cheerios had a promotion sometime in late 2009 where they attached a free book to each cereal box. We don't eat a lot of Cheerios, but I saw that this book was by Karma Wilson, one of our favorite authors, so I had to buy the box with the book attached. I can't believe that the flimsy little paperback, complete with Spanish and English (kudos to Cheerios for that), has held up for so long in our read-happy house.

Sleepyhead is one of the most soothing books I've read. It truly lulled Ben to sleep for a few months, and Segal's illustrations amuses Lorelei everytime. It's a simple little tale of a mama putting her baby bear to sleep, but he keeps asking for one more thing: (From memory) "One more comfy, cozy cuddle; One more kiss, and one more snuggle!" It is adorable. I only wish that it would come out in a board book, so that it could become one of my go-to books for newborns (along with a Miracle Blanket, which are truly godsends--we were introduced to them by my best friend Stacey when Ben was born).

The other wonderful thing about this book is the illustrator, John Segal. Turns out that he has a bunch of wonderful books that he's written and illustrated himself! We've almost read all of them at our own local library, though I'm sure there are more than those they can supply us. His illustrations somehow match simple with structured--I think what I mean is that he makes them whimsical but still realistic. I like my kids to be able to recognize what animals are in the pictures, you know? Sleepyhead is full of gorgeous illustrations by an artist whose fan club I'd join.