Oh, Are You Awake?

January 1, 2024
A tired penguin perched atop the head of a gentle, goofy lion wants some sleep, but the lion is wide awake: "Tell me a story, Penguin." Penguin, whose eyes are barely open, promises a story later and falls asleep. Bright digital illustrations convey Penguin's detailed dream world in gauzy bursts of color, contrasting with the stark white backgrounds of consciousness when a loud noise startles Penguin awake. Lion feigns innocence ("Oh, Penguin! Are you awake?"), but the page-turn reveals Lion sitting behind a betraying drum set. The situation escalates: Penguin keeps falling asleep, Lion keeps interfering -- crunching on a loud snack, bouncing on a trampoline. The art deftly moves the story (all in dialogue with alternating font colors for the two characters) between dreams and reality. The animated Lion, eagerly prodding for more dream details ("Sounds magical! Tell me every little thing"), makes a funny and irresistible foil to the exhausted, frustrated Penguin. In the end, Penguin relents and tells Lion a story...about a sleepy penguin who tells a lion a story. Lion declares this story lazy, but it does the trick. Lion falls asleep, and the two friends share rainbow dreams of puppies, unicorns, and candy together at last. This contentious going-to-sleep sequence between two appealing characters has all the right ingredients for sharing aloud, whether it is time for bed or simply time for a story. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 22, 2024
“Tell me a story, Penguin,” says a large yellow lion to the little black-and-white bird perched upon its head. An aurora-like swirl of colors hangs over Penguin’s sleepy self, a clear indication that slumber is imminent, so the bird refuses: “Now is the time we close our eyes and dream sweet dreams. I will tell you a story when we are awake.” But each time Penguin drifts off into a wonderful dream—befriending a candy-making robot, riding a unicorn, conducting a puppy train—Lion yanks the bird back into the waking world. The feline plays drums, crunches on chips, and even jumps on a trampoline, all while insisting that it’s not intentionally trying to keep Penguin up (“I’m always quiet. I’m basically a mouse”). Jarvis (Together with You) riffs on impeccable comic beats from Shea (Chez Bob) using naif-style digital artwork whose elements feel handmade—Lion’s circular mane embodies crayon-like textures, while Penguin is rendered in what looks like feathered ink. It’s a funny, visually playful bedtime battle of wills in which both beings get the resolution of their dreams. Ages 3–5.

February 15, 2024
In this tale from two veteran picture-book creators, a wide-awake lion demanding bedtime stories from a sleepy penguin takes center stage. As Penguin prepares to enter slumberland, Lion asks for a story. Penguin promises to tell one later and falls asleep, but Lion's loud drumming jolts Penguin awake from a wonderful dream about a robot giving out candy. Lion begs to hear about the "sweet candy dreams," but Penguin says, "Not now Lion. It is time to close our eyes and dream dreams." Penguin slips into another dream, now donning a unicorn horn and flying on a unicorn's back--until "CRUNCH, CRUNCH" noises (Lion is eating from a bag of Bob's Crunchies, perhaps a reference to the book's author) cause Penguin and the unicorn to hurtle toward a gaping dragon's maw. Penguin chastises Lion before falling back to sleep to dream of driving a puppy train...when "BOING! BOING!" noises ring out, this time from Lion's trampoline. Penguin relents and tells a cursory account of the night's dreams, but Lion complains that Penguin is lazy. Penguin is truly exhausted and finally tells a story that puts Lion to sleep. While the last joke falls a bit flat, the funny alternating dialogue (Penguin's in black, Lion's in blue) and soft digital illustrations sure to spur young listeners' imaginations make for an entertaining bedtime romp. Enticement into dreamland for children requesting just one more bedtime story. (Picture book. 3-5)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 15, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 In this riotously funny take on bedtime stalling, two friends, a lion and a penguin, have a conflict. Penguin, perched on Lion's mane, wants to go to sleep. Lion wants to hear a story, and Penguin makes the mistake of promising Lion a story after Penguin wakes up. In Penguin's first dream, a robot dispenses huge amounts of candy until something causes the robot to fall apart in a stream of broken parts. Penguin wakes up to find Lion playing the drums. Penguin next dreams of riding a unicorn in the clouds, but the unicorn morphs into a monster after munching noisily on snacks; Lion has been rattling bags of chips. Finally, Lion's bouncing on a trampoline derails Penguin's dream of driving a train filled with puppies. The deft strokes of Jarvis' sweet illustrations create a sense of the sounds and movements that keep waking Penguin--until Penguin finally comes up with a surprise resolution that gives Lion a story and sends him to sleep. Charming.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2024
A tired penguin perched atop the head of a gentle, goofy lion wants some sleep, but the lion is wide awake: "Tell me a story, Penguin." Penguin, whose eyes are barely open, promises a story later and falls asleep. Bright digital illustrations convey Penguin's detailed dream world in gauzy bursts of color, contrasting with the stark white backgrounds of consciousness when a loud noise startles Penguin awake. Lion feigns innocence ("Oh, Penguin! Are you awake?"), but the page-turn reveals Lion sitting behind a betraying drum set. The situation escalates: Penguin keeps falling asleep, Lion keeps interfering -- crunching on a loud snack, bouncing on a trampoline. The art deftly moves the story (all in dialogue with alternating font colors for the two characters) between dreams and reality. The animated Lion, eagerly prodding for more dream details ("Sounds magical! Tell me every little thing"), makes a funny and irresistible foil to the exhausted, frustrated Penguin. In the end, Penguin relents and tells Lion a story...about a sleepy penguin who tells a lion a story. Lion declares this story lazy, but it does the trick. Lion falls asleep, and the two friends share rainbow dreams of puppies, unicorns, and candy together at last. This contentious going-to-sleep sequence between two appealing characters has all the right ingredients for sharing aloud, whether it is time for bed or simply time for a story.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)