Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep! (Cat the Cat

Cat the Cat #4

by Mo Willems

Pour la première fois, Mo Willems invite les tout-petits dans son univers plein d'humour, de tendresse, de surprise... avec Chat le chat en maître de cérémonie. L'univers des tout-petits décliné en quatre irrésistibles livres tout-carton

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Cats, Humor, Storytime

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

#1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale.

In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.

The New York Times Book Review called Mo “the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's."

Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.

Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering 6 Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, funny, great for pre-readers to recognize words :)

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

cat the cat tells everybody to sleep then they all sleep.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Mo,

Thank you so much for writing easy reader books that are actually fun for kids and parents to read! You have revolutionized this genre. I love these book as well as the Piggie and Gerald series. You have added spice to our nightly bedtime stories. I don't know how many times we read the page in this book, "I'm on it." My kids laughed every time, okay I giggled as well. Please continue to crank out these amazing books!

Sincerely,

So long Dick and Jane

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another pleasing book by Mo Willems that we'll probably eventually add to our personal collection. A story about saying good night to various animals and watching them get ready for bed, all my children enjoyed it. They especially got a kick out of the horse sitting on the potty. Not enough words to be considered a level 1 book, but still a fun family read.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/27/2023 - Read with Madison. Last time I read this was when I was pregnant with her 😍

9/19/2021 - Not much to the dialogue, but it’s a cute way to discuss how each animal is getting ready for bedtime. I enjoyed the bit of humor with the owl 🦉

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐️
Read it to the clients

[Cathy | A Case Full of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire Cat the Cat series by Mo Willems is so great! The words are so simple and written in pleasing, predictable patterns, allowing beginning readers to read them with confidence.

The illustrations are fun and engaging, adding another layer to the story.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this series to any beginning reader!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. My kiddo is still too young to get the joke at the end, but he loves talking about animals, and proudly informed me that the horse is going poop. So, there's that!

[Joy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love you Mo! You always make me smile!!!!!!!!

[Sweet on Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheerful Cat is back! In this story, Cat comes to find all of her friends, Sheep, Pig, Giraffe, Crab, Horse and Shark, and coaxes them into slumber. When Cat happens upon each friend, they are all in a different stage of the bedtime ritual. Sheep is reading, Giraffe is brushing his teeth, etc. Little readers will most enjoy Horse's stage in the ritual - what youngster doesn't love a little good, clean potty humor? But what happens when Cat gets to Owl? You can just imagine what Willems does with this bit of humor! Checkers anyone?

As with the other "Cat the Cat" books Willems has introduced, the story is simple, direct and repetitive. Perfect for a young toddler who can't sit still very long and equally as perfect for a fledgling reader, who will be able to read it by him/herself very quickly.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun reading primer in the Cat the Cat series by Mo Willems. It's perfect for bedtime and has a simple narrative and colorful illustrations that will entertain young readers. Our youngest was very proud that she could read this book all by herself.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good night book. Cat the Cat tells various animals it's time to sleep, and they are all happy to go to bed... except for that one guy.

A cute and silly bedtime book.

[Kylie Shoup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concept/Theme: Bedtime
I loved this story and how funny it was! “Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep!” by Mo Willems is a hilarious and exciting bedtime story that follows a cat at a sleepover saying goodnight to all of their friends like the sheep, giraffe, and crab. Each page shows the different bedtime routines that each of the animals has before they go to sleep. For example, the giraffe makes sure to brush their teeth and the horse makes sure to go to the bathroom. Each person has a routine that they need to follow before going to bed, and children could relate it to their sense of routine. This story makes sense to me based on Nodelman's essay "How picture books work" and how he states that pictures communicate more than words when reading stories since they explain what we are reading (Nodelman 128). This would be true for this story because the cat is saying goodnight to everyone while the pictures show what each animal friend is doing before they head to sleep. Because the words are too simple, pictures are being used to provide readers with more information that could provide a better understanding of what the story is trying to say. Teachers should read this in their classrooms because it offers a more humorous angle on bedtime stories that are not always discussed.

[Widad Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep!" is a picture book that is written by an American author named Mo Willems. The book talks about a Cat who goes around and says goodnight to all her animal friends. She keeps calling them with their name twice like when she wants to call the Pig , she would say "Pig the Pig". Also, the same thing when she wants to call the Giraffe "Giraffe the Giraffe" so she can get them ready for bed.
I really liked the story and I will encourage all preschool teachers to read it to their students because it is a simple and repetitive story that will be perfect for young children ( students) who are learning to read. That repetition will show the students and teach them how to say animal names. Lastly ,this story will teach little kids what the bedtime routine looks like.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once watched a documentary called the "The History of the English Language." It was quite interesting. Among other things it thoroughly convinced me that reading is one of the keys to compassion. Because the more you read, the more you are able to see things from another person's point of view. This book does that. On the outset it is a simple book about animals going to sleep. But then, in the end we are hit with the loneliness that one feels when one is different and has no friends. A few phrases. A few pictures and we feel the intensity of loneliness. And it awakes compassion in us. And compassion is always a good thing!!!

**Talking points - how could the other animals help owl feel loved? How can you help those who are different feel loved?

[☁︎ ☾ ｡⋆ morgan ⋆｡☽ ☁︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who Sleeps, Cat the Cat? is a fast-paced Cat the Cat book that's perfect for reading before bed! the story doesn't do much -- it's repetitive and what you'd expect. but the art is cute and it's fantastic for early readers trying to grasp words and sentence flow. Willems' art is cute as always <3

Cat the Cat was certainly me when i was younger trying to persuade everyone in my household to go to bed, but now... i just relate to the poor owl. no sleep, here i come!

[Robert Gowdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes us through cat letting all of her friends know it is time to go to sleep. The book has a very simplistic drawn collection of pictures to tell the story which appeals to a much younger audience. The story touches on communication, informing others politely, and understanding when you do not need to inform others of new information. I would recommend this story to a much younger audience; kindergarten and under.

[Carlie Elson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is funny . This book is also repetitive. When the cat asks if the owl wants to go to sleep the owl is still up and because it is nocturnal it doesn't sleep in the night. All of the animals go to sleep, but the owl asks if anyone wants to play checkers. This book is funny and a good read for preschool - 1st grade.

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

These animals model perfect execution of bedtime routine activities, along with uniformly cheerful attitudes. The "cat the cat," "sheep the sheep" naming convention is probably soothing and easy to remember for little ones. If this book is aimed at pre-school set, is "checkers" really a relatable game for the owl to want to play?

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great BB to read to a small child who has problems getting ready for bed! Very relatable situation that I think many parents have to deal with. This is the type of book that can be read to a child, read with a child and then have the child read the book on their own. Another wonderful BB by Mo Willems.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We love Mo Willems! This book was no exception. Willems writes very simple but is able to make kids happy about reading and also starts a lot of conversations about the pictures, which I love. That's the magic of Mo Willems!

[Josie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a very repetitive book which is good for students as they begin to read. It repeatedly shows readers animals with the word and picture next to them. The pictures are colorful and captivating and I think the storyline is good for students to read before bed.

[Madeline Masluk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a quick children's book for them to read before bedtime. It is a good and quick book for children who are learning to read. I thought it was a cute book and a perfect book for children to go to sleep after reading it. It also shows what kind types of animals sleep or not.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight! I like this book, goodnight, goodnight, goodnight! So this cat tells everyone to go to bed and the [spoiler alert] owl wants to play checkers with everyone, but no one wants to play checkers 'cause they're all asleep.

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacked the rhythm I enjoyed so much in "Who Says That, Cat the Cat?" but had the same fun illustrations and sudden disruption in repetition at the end. I really enjoyed the pictures of each animal preparing for sleep and the lovely starry illustration at the end.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very repetitive, which isn't a bad thing for very young children. The introduction of owl could spark a conversation about nocturnal animals.

[Suzanne (Fiction, Stardust, PinkiePie) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The shark is adorable with that bunny as sleeping comforter

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cat the Cat tells all the animals it's time to sleep as they participate in the various activities involved in getting ready for bed. As usual a cute Mo Willems twist at the end.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first venture into Cat the Cat books, and it worked well for preschool story time. Definitely one I'm going to reuse.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with a lot of Mo Willems stuff the ending of this left me chuckling, but again I wondered if kids would really get the joke. Often his stuff needs a certain level of understanding context.