While Everyone Is Sleeping by Sarah Mackenzie

While Everyone Is Sleeping is a sweet bedtime book, perfect for cozy nights.

While Everyone Is Sleeping by Sarah Mackenzie and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. Waxwing Books, 2023. 40 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, ages 0-4
• Recommended For: ages 0-4

Little Shrew, awakened by the moon, steps out to investigate. Drawn forward by the magical night-time world of frogs, fireflies, and flowers, he* ends up frolicking under the moon flowers. As the night wanes and the flowers begin to close, he creeps back into the soft bed he shares with his mother and siblings. *Little Shrew narrates, and it’s unclear whether Little Shrew is a boy or a girl. It doesn’t matter to the story at all! Both little boys and little girls will find Little Shrew a friendly, relatable character.

Bedtime books are a special category. The books we share with sleepy children, snuggled on our laps before they drift off to dreamland, are quiet books, but they don’t need to be boring books. Children often wonder what’s going on after dark; this book invites them to imagine the wonderful, small delights (delicate flowers, moths, and baby animals) happening just outside their window and not the potentially scary things (foxes, coyotes, and other predators hunting). A gentle refrain (“while everyone is sleeping”), a soft palette, and a cozy ending make this book a perfect example of a snuggly, cozy bedtime read.

Considerations: none

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

• Literary/Artistic Rating: 4
• Worldview Rating: 4

Read more about our ratings here.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Also by Sarah Mackenzie, but with a bouncy, daytime feel: *A Little More Beautiful.
• Book Review: Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward and illustrated by Steve Jenkins (another nature-inspired book that makes a good bedtime read).
• Resource: Gladys Hunt on Getting Them to Sleep (a resource from The Hive)

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