First sentence: Cooper climbed out of his mama's warm pouch. Dressed in his jammies, he lay on the couch. His mama sat near him. "I can't sleep," he said. "Please, can you sing, then I'll go to my bed?"
Premise/plot: Cooper can't sleep. His mama finds a way to tell him stories and sing to him at the same time. The tunes she sings: "Rock-a-bye Baby," "The Farmer in the Dell," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Jingle Bells," and "Lullabye and Good Night."
My thoughts: My guess is that all the singing would make this a fun read aloud to share with little ones. I liked this one because I like to make up my own words to familiar songs. I always have. I'm guessing I always will. That's just how my family works. I like it because it celebrates singing in addition to celebrating the bond between parent and child.
My lingering question: Why kangaroos? If Cooper gets to crawl back into his mama's pouch to go to sleep, why would bedtime ever be a struggle? True, bedtime struggles don't always, always, always have to be about separation anxiety--mom or dad leaving the room, being all alone in your bed all alone, sleepy but still awake. True, bedtime struggles could come from "I'm not tired. I'm not ready for bed. I want to play." But the closeness and safety of Mama--being IN the pouch--I'm not seeing why Cooper would ever have stress. In fact, he seems to have the good life.
Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10
© 2017 Becky Laney of Young Readers
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