Two lovely picture books on the review docket today! Courtesy of the kind folks at Pajama Press, I have the pleasure of reviewing Jennifer Maruno and Miki Sato’s While You Sleep; second up, courtesy of the kind folks at Nimbus Publishing, I have the pleasure of reviewing Dwayne LaFitte’s and Thérèse Cilia’s Over by the Harbour: Counting in Outport Newfoundland and Labrador. Happy reading!

It is likely I have mentioned this before, but I do adore a cozy nighttime- perfect-for-bed- picture book! If you are on the lookout for something soft, serene and utterly sweet, may I suggest taking a peak at Jennifer Maruno and Miki Sato’s whimsical While You Sleep. Told in gentle, rhythmically pleasing rhyming couplets, author Maruno and collage artist Sato take readers on a fantastical journey of what happens through the night as wee ones sleep. As a little girl is tucked into bed by her mother- with the girl’s three plush bunnies snuggled in close!- readers get to see how busy the nighttime is while we sleep: “For while you sleep, there’s work to be done./Someone has to polish the sun,/Comb the grass, straighten the trees,/Place a dot on the black-eyed peas”. While “clouds are stuffed, sewn, and mended” and “paints for flowers and feathers blended”, readers see as the girl’s three little bunnies are kept busy helping throughout the night- sprinkling dust on butterflies, and embroidering a Milky Way in “the woven night of black and gray”. Readers can also see the little girl’s mom as well as her pet kitten interspersed in some of the pictorial spreads, adding to the comforting nature of the story. Altogether, Jennifer Maruno’s pleasingly rhythmical couplets paired with Miki Sato’s graceful paper collage, textile and embroidered silk art make While You Sleep a recommended picture book to add to your bedtime reading rotation.

It was not until I became a children’s librarian that I learned the 19th century-penned children’s counting song Over in the Meadow. I remember how excited I was when I finally memorized the felt story version of it and shared it with a preschool group! The Ezra Jack Keats adaptation is the one version I have been most familiar with, so what a treat it was it was to be recently introduced recently to a beautiful and modern Canadian adaptation, Over by the Harbour: Counting in Outport Newfoundland and Labrador, words by Dwayne LaFitte and art by Thérèse Cilia. Utilizing the same approach to counting and rhyming introduction, Over by the Harbour adds a delightful spin and dimension on the classic by featuring a selection of the province’s recognizable animals in the rhyme. In the opening pages readers are welcomed in with the following: “Over by the harbour,/In a bog in the sun/Lived an old mother moose/And her little calf one…”. With Cilia’s beautiful, naturalistic watercolour art as our background to LaFitte’s warm text, readers are taken on a decidedly Newfoundland and Labrador experience, starring animals and their stunning habitats. From polar bears to puffins, to harp seals and Newf pups, young readers may clamour to “roar”, “flap”, “roll” and “bark” along in action with the animal mothers and their delightful babies. I read Over by the Harbour with my youngest and they not only enjoyed practicing their counting as well as guessing the rhymes, but also enjoyed poring over the adorably illustrated animals. Readers interested in exploring a new version of this classic rhyme – or perhaps those searching for new counting stories!- might especially enjoy Dwayne LaFitte and Thérèse Cilia’s truly lovely Over by the Harbour: Counting in Outport Newfoundland and Labrador.

I received a copy of While You Sleep courtesy of Pajama Press in exchange for an honest review. I received a copy of Over by the Harbour courtesy of Nimbus Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own. Titles have been published and are currently available.