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The Sleeper Train: A moonlit adventure perfect for bedtime reading with a 3, 4 or 5 year-old, written by a Booker shortlisted novelist
When a child is too excited to fall asleep on the night train, she tries thinking about all the places she’s ever slept in this comforting moonlit adventure.
Just as it’s starting to get dark, a child and her family board the sleeper train, where they’ll travel through the night and reach their destination in the morning. But as the train rocks from side to side, rolling through the vast Indian countryside, the child can’t sleep. It’s all too thrilling! So instead, she thinks of all the different places she has peacefully slept, from that cozy spot on Mom and Dad’s bed, to a seaside hotel, to a tent in a field, to Mom’s childhood room at her grandparents’ house. But will that help her to drift off? In this unique bedtime book, Mick Jackson’s charming narrative voice meets Baljinder Kaur’s richly detailed illustrations, set in her parents’ homeland, for a story sure to usher young listeners off to dreamland.
Just as it’s starting to get dark, a child and her family board the sleeper train, where they’ll travel through the night and reach their destination in the morning. But as the train rocks from side to side, rolling through the vast Indian countryside, the child can’t sleep. It’s all too thrilling! So instead, she thinks of all the different places she has peacefully slept, from that cozy spot on Mom and Dad’s bed, to a seaside hotel, to a tent in a field, to Mom’s childhood room at her grandparents’ house. But will that help her to drift off? In this unique bedtime book, Mick Jackson’s charming narrative voice meets Baljinder Kaur’s richly detailed illustrations, set in her parents’ homeland, for a story sure to usher young listeners off to dreamland.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published July 3, 2025
22 people want to read
About the author
Mick Jackson
32 books72 followersMick Jackson (born 1960) is a British writer from England, best known for his novel The Underground Man (1997). The book, based on the life of William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and for the 1997 Whitbread Award for best first novel.
Mick Jackson was born in 1960, in Great Harwood, Lancashire, and educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn.
Jackson worked in local theatre, studied theatre arts at Dartington College of Arts, and played in a rock band called The Screaming Abdabs. In 1990, he enrolled in a creative writing course at the University of East Anglia, and began working on The Underground Man. He has been a full-time writer since 1995.
Jackson's other works are the novels Five Boys (2002) and The Widow's Tale (2010), and the short story collections Ten Sorry Tales (2006) and The Bears of England (2009). Under the pseudonym Kirkham Jackson, he wrote the screenplay for the 2004 television film Roman Road. He lives in Brighton.
Mick Jackson was born in 1960, in Great Harwood, Lancashire, and educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn.
Jackson worked in local theatre, studied theatre arts at Dartington College of Arts, and played in a rock band called The Screaming Abdabs. In 1990, he enrolled in a creative writing course at the University of East Anglia, and began working on The Underground Man. He has been a full-time writer since 1995.
Jackson's other works are the novels Five Boys (2002) and The Widow's Tale (2010), and the short story collections Ten Sorry Tales (2006) and The Bears of England (2009). Under the pseudonym Kirkham Jackson, he wrote the screenplay for the 2004 television film Roman Road. He lives in Brighton.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 17, 2025
A Sikh family travels overnight by train to visit friends. As the little girl lies awake in their sleeper car, she reflects on all of the different places where she's fallen asleep before she drifts off.
A lovely, cozy concept, and a gem of a book. Full of jewel tones, intricate details, and embellished borders, it's a work of art. Though the book is rich with culturally specific touches (the girl's father unwinding his top knot at night as the mother loosens the little girl's braid, the writing on the newspapers, the art on the walls) the story itself feels universally relevant--sleepy parents and an excited child who cannot sleep.
Highly recommended.
A lovely, cozy concept, and a gem of a book. Full of jewel tones, intricate details, and embellished borders, it's a work of art. Though the book is rich with culturally specific touches (the girl's father unwinding his top knot at night as the mother loosens the little girl's braid, the writing on the newspapers, the art on the walls) the story itself feels universally relevant--sleepy parents and an excited child who cannot sleep.
Highly recommended.
January 10, 2026
This depicts experiences rooted in a culture halfway around the planet but offering universal connection in its emotional explorations and memories. Written by Mick Jackson and illustrated by Baljinder Kaur, this is a delightfully illustrated story of a girl and her family as they travel to visit relatives. The train itself frames the story, as the girl's first-person narration reveals her family's journey, her excitement about using a fold-down bed in their cabin, and then her struggle to fall asleep. As might be predicted, readers join her in viewing the station, their night travels through and near cities, and her struggle to calm herself and fall asleep. Then, page turns each reveal her memory of strategies to deal with sleeplessness.
There will be plenty of readers who find the vibrant and detailed illustrations both welcome and familiar, a rare opportunity to see themselves and their homeland on picture book pages. For others, though, this will be less a mirror and more of a window or sliding door to a world filled with new images and locations, yet deeply familiar experiences. She activates her past efforts to find sleep, remembering happy times: a recent vacation, napping at the beach under a soothing sun, family camping, and even a scary time in the hospital when her family stayed at her side to comfort her. Her memories reveal that such universal experiences are global, while the specifics in culture, clothing, and styles clearly reveal their Middle-East/South Asian setting. Morning brings the family to the dining car and the final page turn is utterly perfect. (Another memory to be recalled on some sleepless night in the future).
There will be plenty of readers who find the vibrant and detailed illustrations both welcome and familiar, a rare opportunity to see themselves and their homeland on picture book pages. For others, though, this will be less a mirror and more of a window or sliding door to a world filled with new images and locations, yet deeply familiar experiences. She activates her past efforts to find sleep, remembering happy times: a recent vacation, napping at the beach under a soothing sun, family camping, and even a scary time in the hospital when her family stayed at her side to comfort her. Her memories reveal that such universal experiences are global, while the specifics in culture, clothing, and styles clearly reveal their Middle-East/South Asian setting. Morning brings the family to the dining car and the final page turn is utterly perfect. (Another memory to be recalled on some sleepless night in the future).
September 29, 2025
The Sleeper Train takes readers on an overnight trip on a train in India. A little girl remembers how exciting it was to get cozy in the cabin with her parents, pulling down bunks and gazing out the windows at the passing villages. But how can one sleep when everything is new? She decides to think about all of the places where she has gone to sleep. And all of a sudden, the girl is waking up the next morning.
Train fans will love the excitement and mystery of this trip. Not only do readers get a good view of the train and its cabin and dining car, but they also visit the girl at home, in a cottage by the sea, in a tent in the country, in the hospital, and at her grandparents house. The mesmerizing artwork, with its warm palette, undulating lines and scenes full of wonderful details, makes the train trip feel like a fantastical journey. A Punjabi-language newspaper here, candy wrappers there, stray cats and dogs, the glowing eyes of animals in the jungle, along with the beautiful decorative designs of the train and text borders make the book a visual delight. At the end, the little girl sleeps on the roof of a house while the train chugs away in the night, its eloquent plume of steam wafting across the page.
Train fans will love the excitement and mystery of this trip. Not only do readers get a good view of the train and its cabin and dining car, but they also visit the girl at home, in a cottage by the sea, in a tent in the country, in the hospital, and at her grandparents house. The mesmerizing artwork, with its warm palette, undulating lines and scenes full of wonderful details, makes the train trip feel like a fantastical journey. A Punjabi-language newspaper here, candy wrappers there, stray cats and dogs, the glowing eyes of animals in the jungle, along with the beautiful decorative designs of the train and text borders make the book a visual delight. At the end, the little girl sleeps on the roof of a house while the train chugs away in the night, its eloquent plume of steam wafting across the page.
January 15, 2025
On an overnight train ride to visit family friends, a girl enjoys the romance of a moonlit ride through the Indian countryside complete with a pull-out bed. When she struggles to sleep because of the unfamiliar surroundings, she pictures every time she has slept in another bed and how that experience feels, and she is lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the train. This unique bedtime story shows a child processing a memory in the making, how she is swept up in the new experience, and how we recall our past core memories when making new ones. The prose is comforting and cozy, and I am absolutely in love with Kaur’s illustrations. It feels like Tomie de Paola and Peter Max mixed together in soothing, wavy blues, golds, purples - I am smitten with this story and can’t wait to buy it and share it with my students! This picture book is perfect for story time or bedtime, as children will relate to the feeling of excitement that happens with a new adventure while having to settle down for sleep. Absolutely 5 stars and I am buying a copy for our school library!
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this ARC.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this ARC.
August 8, 2025
Loved the illustrations, the feel of the book and the diverse representation. The style of artwork was not something I had seen before, and it really fit the story. I also loved reading about a girl going on a sleeper car, and thinking about the different places she has slept. Kids will be able to relate to her thinking about that, and how we can sleep in different places and be ok.
July 15, 2025
the author made this story short and sweet. the perfect bed time story set on an Indian Sleeper Trajn.
The illustrations capture you with their impeccable detail. Each time I go through the pages another detail captures me.
This is going to be a favourite forever.
The illustrations capture you with their impeccable detail. Each time I go through the pages another detail captures me.
This is going to be a favourite forever.
July 13, 2025
A dreamy book with beautiful illustrations that takes you on a wonderful nostalgic journey.
July 13, 2025
A beautifully put together book! The detail in the illustration kept me enthralled whilst my daughter loved pointing out things she recognised and was amazed learning about sleeping trains!
July 14, 2025
Such a beautifully written and illustrated book
August 11, 2025
2.5/5
August 16, 2025
A child's perspective of the joys of taking a trip on the sleeper train.
September 5, 2025
Story ok, pictures make it stand out
November 30, 2025
Really dreamlike and almost magical. I really like the illustrations and all the colors used. So pretty.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews