Official Review: Mister Sleepy by Jane Alice

[tjportugal]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mister Sleepy" by Jane Alice.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A little fellow suffering from hypersomnia likes doing everyday activities. However, he spends most of his time sleeping. One day, while going on a journey by train, he falls asleep and misses his stop. He wakes up at the conductor’s voice and worries about getting off the train and finding out where he is. But – more importantly – he worries about finding a good place... to fall asleep again. Roofless and lost, what will be of him?

Mister Sleepy, by Jane Alice, is a great story about sleeping. Children going to bed, either for the afternoon nap or at the end of the day, will surely enjoy listening to their parents reading this book to them. The main character, Mister Sleepy, represents sleepy children, and the various adventures that he goes through represent the various dreams children may have while sleeping.

My favorite element was the idea that, at the end of the greatest adventure portrayed in the book, Mister Sleepy will wake up for an extraordinary event. Likewise, children will fall asleep looking forward to a great day after waking up the next morning.

Each of the 24 pages of the book has short paragraphs and a large illustration picturing the event described. The illustrations, by Andy Yura, show a preference for calm colors, like blue and green, and often portray the funny side of being asleep all the time. As for the text, it involves simple rhetoric and stylistic devices like assonances and rhymes that help children engage with the narrative. However, school-aged children will find some difficulty reading the text because of the rather small font size. This was the element that I disliked the most, as it is clearly unfit for a children’s book to have such small letters. Besides a minor grammar mistake, one could say that the book was professionally edited.

All in all, Mister Sleepy, by Jane Alice, is a funny and relatable bedtime story about falling asleep. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of what the main character and the storyline symbolically represent. I feel that the structural problem with the font size is not enough of a reason to lower the rating, especially considering that the story is mainly designed to be read by parents to their kids.

I think that this book is more appealing for children from 3 to 9 years of age. Moreover, it would be a great addition to a kid’s personal library.

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Mister Sleepy
View: on Bookshelves

[Joan642]

Wow. This is a very lovely book for children. Thanks for the review.

[Luluwa79]

Your summary and review is great. The novel will pique the interest of even adults with its adventurous nature. I would also like to read the book. Thanks

[Diana Lowery]

This sounds adorable. I had never heard the word hypersomnia before, but I think some of my former students must have had it during class. Great Review!

[Drianie]

As a preschool teacher, I can attest to the fact that children love to engage in narratives with basic rhymes that they can easily remember. This sounds like a great book to read during nap time. Thank you for the great review!

[K-A-Y]

Mr. Sleepy definitely sounds like a book I'd read to my little cousin to convince him to go to bed for a host of adventures. I believe Mr. Sleepy would be a delightful addition to his library. Lovely review!!

[Tablito]

A funny character right there, Mister Sleepy is concerned about finding a place to sleep again after missing his stop while sleeping in the train.

[Chigo Nwagboso]

This is indeed going to be a funny book. And I am sure children will love it. Great review.

[SweetSourSalty AndSpicy]

I would apperecite it more if the author introduced the hypersomnia condition (in an age-appropriate way) so kids will understand the excessive sleepiness of Mister Sleepy. Thank you for the review.

[tjportugal]

Wow. This is a very lovely book for children. Thanks for the review.

It is, indeed. Midway through I got slightly disappointed with the storyline. But then the end was really outstanding and everything made perfect sense.
Thank you for your comment.

[tjportugal]

Your summary and review is great. The novel will pique the interest of even adults with its adventurous nature. I would also like to read the book. Thanks

Hi
I wish the editor had the same opinion as you...
The book is really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm an adult.
Thank you for your comment.

[Irene_A]

Love the concept of the book! Most kids wouldn’t mind reading this daily before bed as it pertains to sleep. Thanks for the review.

[tjportugal]

This sounds adorable. I had never heard the word hypersomnia before, but I think some of my former students must have had it during class. Great Review!

Hi
Thank you for your lovely comment.
Many students suffer from hypersomnia during classes. And then, all of a sudden, they are magically healed. The mysteries of science...

[HannahsReads]

Thanks for your thoughtful review! Books can be such a great way to help children understand something like sleeping.

[tjportugal]

As a preschool teacher, I can attest to the fact that children love to engage in narratives with basic rhymes that they can easily remember. This sounds like a great book to read during nap time. Thank you for the great review!

It's awesome to have feedback from a preschool teacher about the book and the review. Thank you very much.
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