While You Are Sleeping

by Mariana Ruiz Johnson

While you are sleeping, does the rest of the world sleep, too?
Not everyone.

In this dreamy book, which won the 2015 Silent Book Contest at the prestigious Bologna Children's Book Fair, Mariana Ruiz Johnson conjures up the ordinary yet extraordinary world outside the window of a sleeping child. Some people are working. Some people are eating. Some are walking their dogs, others are watching the stars. And some are setting off on an adventure that might inspire an artist to create a book. As magical as the night sky, readers will return to Mariana Ruiz Johnson's illustrations again and again, finding new stories each time they visit.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 9, 2018

About the author

Mariana Ruiz Johnson is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and author. She likes to explore the narrative power of illustration and the relationship between images and words. Using vibrant palettes and different patterns and textures, she combines traditional techniques and digital media. Mariana lives in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lucky find in a library book sale!

A boy goes to sleep after a bedtime story and we see the world around his window. Adults having a meal, dog walking, a baby crying in his mothers arms, you can see into windows around this little boys house, there is lots to look at. As we turn the pages the evening progresses, oh dear the baby is still crying! As night comes some animal creatures from the little boy's bedtime story mingle into the view of the houses, at last the baby has gone to sleep! Now the animals go off for an adventure away from the town, they light a fire, play some instruments and return early in the morning. Most of the town is still asleep but that baby is raring to go! Finally the little boy awakes and the day begins again.

This is a lovely book to look through, so full of interesting details, so much to look at. The illustrations are beautiful, bright colours in a folk art style on an often black background. This is an ideal bedtime story, with lots to look at and lots to think about.

[Alessia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro brulicante silenzioso. Cosa c'è di meglio per stimolare la fantasia e la ricerca ogni volta di nuovi dettagli? Consiglio di "leggerlo" attraverso i suoni, le risate dei ragazzi che ballano, lo smack di una mamma che baci il suo bimbo, il wooh wooh del gufo, il drin drin del campanello della bici... Nella notte in fondo non sono i suoni a farla da padrone?

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vibrant art that I'd love to use to decorate, but the "story" is odd ... from the parents drinking wine and making out to the guy who was taking a shower's dog peeing to the crazy creatures cavorting in another land ... no way any kid is going to want to go to bed after reading this, because they just KNEW everyone was having fun without them! Well, except for the family in the hospital.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young boy goes to sleep, the visual narrative of this wordless picture-book expands ever outward, showing what is going on in the world around him while he slumbers. The people in his city go about their nighttime activities, while a crew of animals embark on a fantastic sea voyage...

Originally published in Italy as Mentre tu dormi, this gorgeous title was the 2015 winner of the Silent Book Contest for wordless picture-books that is run by the Bologna Children's Book Fair. I can certainly see why, as the artwork here is simply breathtaking! The color palette is lovely, the figures (whether human or animal) have a folksy, stylized appeal, and the overall composition of each spread feels organically magical. Recommended to anyone who appreciates beautiful picture-books, or who is looking for visual narratives.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wordless picture book import will take you away from the realistic to the fantastic, perhaps from the comfort of your bed to where the wild things are- and back again!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in Italy a few years ago and in the U.S. last year, from Marianna Ruiz Johnson who lives in Buenos Aires, with the flavor of that other picture book, Windows, it’s a wordless book created in cut paper collage. There are stories to discover on every page of the ordinary night lives of grown-ups while the child is sleeping. If one looks again, there is also some extraordinary figures, perhaps dreams entering the story? It’s very fun to look and look at each page.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork in this wordless picture book.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful, fun, and full of wild imagination.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few more readings would probably turn 4 stars into 5. Such a magical, mysterious book that triggers more questions than it answers! So much to see on every page! So many colors!

[Jessica Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

While You Are Sleeping is on my favorites shelf because it is a vibrant, illustration only book that will capture the attention of new readers and pre-readers and engage them in the joy of reading and sense making. This is a simple story of a child being put to bed and the happenings of the city around him as well as a band of animals that sails off to have a wild party while he is sleeping. The book starts with a close frame illustration of the child being put to bed and with each turn of the page expands its view to encompasses more of the happenings around him. The viewpoint then slowly narrows in again on a band of animals off to have an adventure. This expansion and retraction of viewpoint is used throughout the story and is a great tool to help children take in the details of the big picture and then narrow their focus to the more important or desired literary focus. It is perfect for emergent readers as it contains elements of what they know – a child sleeping cozily in his bed surrounded by his parents and the community around him – with those of the fantastic – a wild dancing animal party in the woods. Both of these elements combined allow children to ground themselves in the familiar while exploring the unknown.

In a reading classroom, I would use this book as a read-aloud prompting students to express what they see and make sense of that by describing what they think is happening. This would be a very basic but important lesson in inferencing and help to develop students’ ability to comprehend. This book also offers a way to motivate students to engage with books even before they are able to read. “Reading” the book through its pictures will build students’ interest in and confidence with books. This book would also be a great book to have in the library as something that is accessible to children on an independent level even before they are able to read.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winner of the 2015 Silent Book Contest in Bologna, Italy, this wordless picture book encourages readers to let their imaginations take flight. Sumptuous colors completely fill its pages, beginning appropriately with a mother reading a bedtime story to a child. As he falls asleep, the perspective shifts so that he becomes smaller and the rest of the world becomes predominant. In subsequent illustrations, he can be seen sleeping while his parents are enjoying a glass of wine and neighbors are frolicking next door. Each of the following scenes allow more of the world around him to be revealed until a splashy double-paged spread shows six characters, perhaps humans wearing animal masks, perhaps his own wild imaginations, celebrating as the sun begins to rise. With the arrival of morning, the two adults are right by the child's bed, ready to start another day. It's pretty clear that all sorts of magical things happen in the world while he's been sleeping, even if those happenings might simply be in his dreams or part of his imagination. Then again, maybe not. I love this book because of how it requires readers to read between the lines and guess what they think is going on along those busy city streets and outside of the city. It's easy to see why it received its honor.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a triumph, a wordless book!

Okay, not a triumph to this reader and writer. Not a triumph to this communicator.

There's a place for this book, but it sure won't be in my house. Not after I bring this hardcover back to the library.

MAKING A CASE FOR THIS BOOK

How special to look through the window of a sleeping child. Imagine, some people are working. Other people are eating. Some fellow humans are walking their dogs, while humans are watching the stars.

What could those people teach us? Hmmmm.

Dream on. Unfortunately, we'll never know. The book is wordless.

The beauty is, you can make up whatever you want. Nothing in this book will contradict you. How freeing? Or maybe, how noncommittal.

RATING THIS BOOK

My policy is to rate books in terms of my view of the intended audience. These would be kids for whom words get in the way.

FIVE STARS for this book. I sure hope these readers eventually learn how to talk, do learn words, and even learn how to communicate well.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wordless picture book about a city's nightlife while a child is sleeping, with a mythical twist at the end when the sun rises! The pictures are incredible and I enjoyed the way each picture panned out to show more of the city. There are some interesting details to consider before reading it with your child ~ a man smoking, friends drinking what looks like wine, and a quick peek through a hospital window in which it is implied someone has been hospitalized ~ so be prepared just in case your child points these out and asks for an explanation!
Loved the illustrations!

[Kat Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This silent picture book is like a mash-up of "Windows" and "Where The Wild Things Are". It oozes a bit more imagination than "Windows" did, yet lacks the depth of the Maurice Sendak classic - but it's creative in its own right, and is perfect for children to explore what might go on while they are sleeping. I was especially drawn to the fact that Johnson chose to portray a variety of moods and activities, which is an important reminder that bad days happen to some while good days happen to others.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little boy goes to sleep, and the book zooms out to show all the different events and activities happening around him. I love how this book shows a broad and varied world - in another window, we see the little boy's parents enjoying a glass of wine. Some of the other lives we see involve animal-people playing music, a family in a hospital, a young woman on a bike, and a man taking a shower. It's a thoughtful concept paired with gorgeous, dreamy art, and the book will be a great way to speak with children about the world that exists outside of their own families.

[The Book Consultant · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just not for me. It’s supposed to be a fun look at what happens while children sleep, but I just found it really bizarre. It shows lots of odd things from parents drinking wine and making out (not odd activities, but not what I really want my son thinking about?), to a guy getting a tattoo, to animals going to a weird bonfire ritual in the woods.

Maybe it’s just me, but I could barely finish flipping through this with my son. Plus, it shows the kids how wild and fun things are after they go to sleep - it doesn’t exactly make them WANT to go to sleep!

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright, colorful, and lively. This shows all different kinds of people and activities at night. There are people working (at a hospital, painting, tattooing, writing), sleeping, at parties, with family, with friends.

For the first few pages, we zoom out from the scene of a child going to bed, seeing more of the city each time (though time is also moving forward as we zoom out). Then we follow some friends (animal-people) into something of another world before returning in the morning.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was such an interesting book! So unique in the illustrations and interesting to see the story unfold. I love the perspective of the book how it changes from page to page. The book goes from nighttime through the night to daytime, so there's a time progression. It's nice and big and beautiful. There's so much to see and notice as the book goes on.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mother and father read a bedtime story to a little one and put them to bed.
Then, we zoom out to see more of the house and neighborhood to see what others are doing.
Eventually, we follow some unusual creatures (people with animal heads -- from the bedtime story?) on an adventure across the water and to a bonfire before dawn when we come home and see the parents waking up the little one.

[Leah Hahn · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the paintings in this book were beautiful the story was a little hard to follow. The child falls asleep, and then the city comes to life, while animals sail across the sea and dance around a fire? It was just a little too strange for my taste. I think the photos would be good for an art class, but I don't know that this would really qualify as a children's story in my eyes.

[Lucca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silent books are some of our favorite books. We spend a long time looking at the illustrations and comparing one page to another. We really enjoyed this book, zooming in and out of the city. We made up stories for his family, person and gave them back stories for where they were going or what they were going to do next.

[May Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an illustrated book depicting the goings on in the kid’s surroundings after he was put to sleep. I love the choice of colors, it matches with the illustration making the drawings vivid. Older kids may enjoy this but adults may have a field day after discovering some adult themed easter eggs. *insert winky mischievous face*

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be fun to read the book "Windows" during a storytime and to encourage students to check this one out to read independently (it is wordless), because both of them have similar themes and I think would work well as companions.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless picture book of what goes on while you are sleeping at night. Some of it is realistic for what adult do and some is totally imagination including the animals that travel by boat to a private island.

[Debbie Tanner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wordless book shows what happens while a child is sleeping and then follows one set of characters to a party and then goes back to the sleeping child. I'll bet this one will inspire lots of conversations.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and enthralling wordless picture book. What happens in the world around you while you are in dreamland? Vibrant, magical artwork. Somehow captures the everyday along with the fantastical.

[Bethe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots going on in this one - of course people are doing different things while the baby sleeps. The people’s noses in profile look weird. Maybe just stick to the cute cavorting animals in hipster clothes? Nice case cover art.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great book to start the year! While you're sleeping, some insane animal head creatures steal a boat and go Joshua Tree style madness while your other neighbors are having sex and (probably) and dogs peeing and wow. More like a wacky seek-and-find...

[Wendelle]

Illustrations make vivid use of blacks, purples, and pinks to show bustling city life and fantasy-world life happening while a child is sleeping, presumably in Buenos Aires... I wish my city was as alive as this, with rooftop patios for drinking under the stars and such

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book without words but, my goodness, there's a lot going on here. As the camera pans back from the little boy sleeping, we see others who are at the beginning of their own adventures. One guy is getting a full back tattoo, two guys and one girl enjoy a dinner and eventually the two guys take a walk together, clearly engaged in a great conversation, a family embracing in the hospital, an artist working on a painting... And so on. There are so many stories within this story, you could spend minutes just looking at one page. And you can easily adapt what you do and don't point out based on what you're comfortable with exploring with your children and their ages.