IF YOU WANT TO FALL ASLEEP

Little Mouse is having trouble falling asleep; Mama Mouse has many suggestions of what to try.

Snuggled up in his yellow pajamas, with his cozy, blue-checked blanket, Little Mouse should be drifting off to dreamland. But he is not sleepy. In fact, he’d much rather be jumping on the bed (with his many toys as accomplices). “If you want to fall asleep and you’re jumping on the bed … / Read pages in a story,” Mama says. “Not one or two or three, / but the whole book, from cover to cover.” Then, the most important piece of advice: “And wait for yawning.” Little Mouse reads a story, but the yawning doesn’t come. Mama then suggests thinking of the many pancakes Little Mouse will eat in the morning. “Not one or two or three, / but mountains of tasty goodness.” With each suggestion, a few more toys nod off to sleep, but Little Mouse is still awake. Until…a hug. Lulling language, key bedtime trigger words, and gentle repetition are sure to help tiny eyes close. Children will enjoy witnessing Little Mouse’s mischief and that of his many toys. (It should be noted that his human dolls all have light skin, and at one point a teddy bear with painted face dresses in a stereotypical Plains Indian costume.)

A common nighttime predicament with a few not-so-common solutions.