TELL ME WHAT TO DREAM ABOUT

When a little girl asks her older sister to tell her what to dream about, the big sister’s creative suggestions seem to fall on deaf ears.

Begging her big sister to help her fall asleep, a little girl proceeds to criticize and reject every dream idea the patient older sister offers. Dream about having waffles for breakfast? No way. How about dreaming about “teeny-tiny waffles with teeny-tiny animals?” Absolutely no little animals crawling on waffles. Dream she’s a giant with pockets full of “cute, furry pets” singing in “funny squeaky voices”? No furry pets singing in pockets. Nonplussed, the big sister suggests dreaming about living in a “furry world” or in a fluffy cloud world or in a treehouse town or in a tiny moss house under a tree, describing the joys of each. More rejects. Eventually, the older sister’s worn out, and they come full circle. Primitive, fantastical, surreal watercolor-and-ink illustrations that are reminiscent of Chagall visually contrast the older sister’s highly imaginative suggestions with her little sister’s persnickety perspective. While the pajama-clad sisters in adjacent beds appear in dim, nighttime blues, the dream images explode in boisterous color above their heads or onto double-page spreads, transporting readers from one fanciful scenario to the next.

Playful bedtime treat for wee ones.