Lauren Child

Charlie helps his younger sister Lola get ready for bed, despite the tigers, whales, and other animals that serve as obstacles.

I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed

Sarah Sammis

I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed by Lauren Child is a book Harriet chose for herself at a recent trip to the book store. When the parents are busy, Charlie's put in charge of getting younger sister, Lola, to bed. Charlie has to use gentle persuasion and humor to get the rambunctious Lola to listen. She would rather bounce, play with stickers, and chatter than go to bed.

As a parent and an older sibling I could completely relate to Charlie's Herculean task. The youngest child needs exta sleep and the oldest child needs time alone. Unfortunately the youngest child often wants to do what the oldest one is doing, including staying up as late. We went through this with Harriet but Sean, just as Charlie does with Lola, came up with a compromise. He goes to bed and reads until he's tired. It's enough of a motivation to get Harriet to go to bed when she needs to.

Lauren Child uses a mixture of line art and collage in her illustrations. The energy in the artwork lends itself perfectly to Lola's unbridled enthusiasm for all things (expect going to bed). Fans of Victoria Kann's artwork (Pinkalicious) will like I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed.

I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed

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