September 23, 2024
Wide-eyed and worried, Greenfield’s relatable child protagonist grapples with insomnia-generated fears in this bedtime book, which balances a serious challenge with silly examples. “My brain is too noisy. My thoughts are too jumpy,” says a child beneath a blanket, who experiences unsettling visions of giant robot sharks, a toilet bowl overflowing with tarantulas, and the world exploding like a popcorn kernel. To counter the onslaught, the subject tries imagining a baby panda or “a choir of candy-covered donuts all singing my favorite songs,” until accepting that thoughts are “just in my head” finally does the trick. In Serafino’s art, varied blues capture the tired figure’s mood, while distorted imagery threatens from thought bubbles cast in slime green, bubble gum pink, and burnished gold. The child’s rallying effort eventually blows away the concerns, offering readers a fitting visualization of the book’s grounding advice that’s handy for wakefulness at any age. Ages 3–7.