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The Sleepy Men
A big man and a little man are both about to go to sleep, but before they do, the big man is going to tell the little man a story of how the Boy in the Moon became the Man in the Moon.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1996
About the author
Margaret Wise Brown
397 books1,263 followersMargaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 10, 2022
A soft lullaby of a bedtime story. I love the gorgeous illustrations Robert Rayevsky created for this book.
The father’s hat reminds me of those worn by the great explorers. The big sleepy man and the little sleepy man are dressed exactly alike except for the hat and the different style shoes. And the boy does not wear glasses.
They each get into their own beds which are way to short in the first illustration but much longer in the second. In the first bedroom spread we see the father lay his hat on the floor. We do not see his shoes. But in the next spread the hat is gone and the shoes are now there. Hmm?
The father starts telling the story of the man in the moon. We next see the hat at the end of the story when the boy is sleeping and dreaming. The hat seems to be the big sleepy man’s ‘bunny/teddy bear’.
The little boy man in the moon is very like the sleepy little man.
The father’s hat reminds me of those worn by the great explorers. The big sleepy man and the little sleepy man are dressed exactly alike except for the hat and the different style shoes. And the boy does not wear glasses.
They each get into their own beds which are way to short in the first illustration but much longer in the second. In the first bedroom spread we see the father lay his hat on the floor. We do not see his shoes. But in the next spread the hat is gone and the shoes are now there. Hmm?
The father starts telling the story of the man in the moon. We next see the hat at the end of the story when the boy is sleeping and dreaming. The hat seems to be the big sleepy man’s ‘bunny/teddy bear’.
The little boy man in the moon is very like the sleepy little man.
March 29, 2022
Hope Prep. Author of the Month-Margaret Wise Brown. Everyone agreed that this book was weird!
September 25, 2012
Two men are sleepy - a big man and a little man. Before falling asleep, the big man tells the story of the man in the moon, who started off as a boy...a sleepy boy. As the story continues, sleepy little man eventually drifts off to dreamland. I think I need to read this one with kiddos - maybe they'll help me "get" it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews