It's Time to Sleep, My Love by Eric Metaxas, Nancy Tillman (Illustrator)

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As children nestle down to sleep, much of the natural world around us is also settling down for the night. This soft picture-book call to slumber serves as a reassuring bedtime hug for any "just one more story" coaxer. Nancy Tillman's comforting animal illustrations and Eric Mataxas' gentle lullaby set just the right tone.

From the Publisher

It's time to sleep, it's time to sleep,

the fishes croon in waters deep.

The songbirds sing in trees above,

"It's time to sleep, my love, my love."

As children prepare for bed, the world around them is also settling down for the night. Animals who live in the jungle, the forest, the sea—all whisper to their babies a soft refrain: It’s time to sleep, my love.

As comforting as a soft blanket and warm as a goodnight hug, Eric Metaxas's lullaby is lovingly brought to life by bestselling artist Nancy Tillman (On the Night You Were Born) , whose illustrations celebrate the wonders of the natural world, and the bonds of family.

School Library Journal

PreS-K

Beyond the soothing titular refrain repeated throughout, troubles cripple this ode to bedtime ritual. Without strict stylistic technique, the verse is unnecessarily redundant, and cumbersome phrases such as "And as you dream inside your sleep" will trip up readers. Adults will surely have to explain the lines "Your dreams will be arriving soon./They'll float to you/in sleep's balloon./They'll be here when I snuff the wick,/you'd better close your eyelids quick." The book's design clearly favors Tillman's richly hued digital and mixed-media composite paintings over the text. Though fans of Tillman's On the Night You Were Born (Feiwel & Friends, 2006) will likely gravitate to this title, general readers will do better to look to other books for their evening routine.-Bethany Isaacson, Wheaton Regional Library, Silver Spring, MD

Kirkus Reviews

With a rhythm similar to Mem Fox's Time for Bed (1993), fishes croon, a turtledove coos, an otter utters and other animals otherwise sing bedtime praises to a tired little girl. What sets this lullaby apart are Tillman's dramatic, digitally created illustrations, enhanced with chalk, watercolor and pencil. As in her recent On the Night You Were Born (2007), a menagerie of wildlife appears, from a crouching frog in a foggy pond to a mother and a baby tiger wrapped in flowering jungle vines, all preparing for sleep against detailed, luminescent backgrounds. When the text reaches the refrain, "So, go to sleep, my love," the little girl is carried or nestled by panda, swan or reindeer. And just as the girl finally reaches sleep, the cast of creatures arrive by foot and hot-air balloon to bring her dreams to her. Readers of Tillman's previous title will also recognize the reappearance of the glistening moon, this time at the quarter, which blows sparkles of light across the evening sky. A luxuriant bedtime retreat for children and parents alike. (Picture book. 3-5)

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