Number Slumber

by Suzanne Bloom

In this book, beloved author-illustrator Suzanne Bloom asks readers how they prepare for bed—from putting on jammies to asking for one more hug—then counts down to bedtime from ten terribly tired tigers to one really weary wombat. Each animal demonstrates a different bedtime ritual—skunks somersault into bunks and elephants curl up with their trunks—adding original and inventive rhymes and a clever counting-backward structure to the bedtime book genre. The lyrical, rhyming text combines with dreamy, colorful artwork to provide a perfect way for children to wind down from an active day in a book sure to become a new bedtime classic.

Genres: Picture Books, Counting, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Storytime, Number

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2016

Reviews

[Cassidy Lake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text-to-Teach Connection:
This book has cute little illustrations and talks about what different sleepyheads do when they are getting ready for bed. I would like to read this book to my students and then do a writing lesson with them. I would title the lesson as "What do you do to get ready for bed?". The students can write a few sentences telling what they do to get ready for bed and then can illustrate a picture to go with their sentences. Anyone can share with the class who chooses to do so.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received a galley at BEA Chicago 2016!
Time to get ready for bed, so you can rest your sleepy head.
This was dull and kind of lame, loving this all you'll feel is shame.
It kind of rhymed and I could really never see myself buying this for my niece.
There was just something that just didn't jump out at me. With a bit of tweaking, I think this could be better.

[ElphaReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

THe pictures alone are absolutely adorable.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blurry illustrations mar this bedtime countdown tale.

[Destiney Dickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright- 2016 Suzanne Bloom
Number of pages- 40
Book format- Hardcover/picture book
Reading level- 2-5 years
Genre- Fiction
Lit Requirement- Numbers book

This bedtime story poses the question "what do you do to get ready for bed?" It lists a few routines that are normally done before bedtime. It then counts down from 10 using different animals. It describes what each animal does in order to get ready for bed or to fall asleep. "Ten terribly tired tigers tiptoe to their beds" while "one really weary wombat yawns. . .and whispers 'nighty-night.'" The soft colors, blue and purple backgrounds, and rhyming words make this book seem very soothing. This is a great book to help children relax and fall asleep. I like the expressive language and that they author chose to include animals that the children may have never heard of. For instance, sun bears, thrushes, and a wombat.

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute middle of the road bedtime book. Not so bad, not so great, juuuuust fine. We read it a few times and back to the library it went. I love love Blooms illustrations though!

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Differnt animals counting from ten to one get ready and snuggle up for bed. toddler and up

[Haaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a simple counting book. The illustrations were cute and the animals were fun.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems disjointed. And a few pages have clever and cute alliteration, which makes it disappointing that the others don't.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute illustrations and a simple rhyming text make for a sweet read aloud.

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Number Slumber is a fairly classic bedtime book. It begins with asking the child what they do to get ready for bed. Then it goes into a countdown of what some other "sleepyheads" do at bedtime. From 10 to 1 Suzanne Bloom has come up with some amazingly alliterative rhymes about various animals heading off to bed. It's cute. Kids ages 2-4 will enjoy this book.

The illustrations all have a blue hue with an almost dream-like quality as there are no outlines or extra details. All of the animals look sufficiently tired or asleep. This book just may get little ones tired out and ready for bed as well.

http://www.momsradius.com/2016/10/kid...

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I like poetry, I'm not much of a fan of rhyming picture books, but the counting part was really fun and well done.

[Elvira · Rating 3 out of 5]

A counting book for nighttime with soft pastel drawings of animals cuddling for bed. A good nighttime book, though the pictures where sometimes hard to distinguish the characters and I wanted a more flowing rhyme.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it a counting book? A bedtime story? How about both? Suzanne Bloom has created a fun look at bedtime while counting down from ten to one. Readers are invited into the book by questioning them about their own bedtime habits. Do they ask for a story and brush their teeth? Do they wait until they are feeling sleepy before they put on their pajamas? And then she takes us through an assortment of animals all preparing to turn in for the night.

This would be a great book to use for a vocabulary lesson, with words such as warble, nimble, and exhausted. It would also be a good mentor text to use in teaching descriptive writing or alliteration. Phrases like "Ten terribly tired tigers tiptoe to their beds," show the power of repeated sounds. My favorite is probably "Seven slightly stinky skunks somersault into their bunks." Another activity that would tie in well with this title is to research the different animals that are shown. Obviously skunks don't catapult into bunks using a circus springboard, so where do they sleep in real life?

The illustrations will have readers chuckling over those somersaulting skunks, exhausted elephants, and weary wombats. It would be fun to see how many items appear in common within the various scenes - pajamas, stuffed animals, and blankets, for example. The pastels used to create the pictures lend each vignette a warm and cozy glow, perfect for snuggling up at bedtime.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Playful descriptions and colorful pictures make this a nice choice for bedtime!

Ages: 3 - 7

Here’s a few of our bedtime favs: watch my reel!

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[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute book based off a bedtime game the author played with her sons. I like the book as a whole, however, it starts off asking what others do before bedtime and then transitions awkwardly to what animals do before bed. It's minor, really, but kept the rating on the lower end. Still, there was clever alliteration and the idea behind the book is a good one, but the first few questions could've been left out in my opinion.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soft dreamy colors and lines help pull the reader toward slumber - although the seven stinky skunks may arouse a response! Alliteration adds interest, as does the counting backwards towards the inevitable.
Can't wait to try this out on my 18-month granddaughter!

[Lauri Fortino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly sweet bedtime book! Kids will love counting the super cute animals from ten down to one and then drifting off to sleep.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, dreamy bedtime reading.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Numbers and bedtime make a fun book for the younger set, reminding them of a bedtime routine, so they can fall asleep!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book for pajama day!

[Beckie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great getting ready for bed counting book. Both kids enjoyed it.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bedtime story for little ones that includes counting down animals from 10.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple book recounting what some animals do to get ready for bed and then goes down a fun alliterative list counting down different animals going to bed.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how fuzzy the artwork is (I'm a sucker for pastels). It makes me sleepy. Fun to read aloud