How Does Sleep Come?

How Does Sleep Come?

Picture book
"Sleep that knits up the ravvell's sleave of care, the death of
each day's life, sore labour's bath, balm of hurt minds, great
nature's second course, chief nourisher in life's feast."
Mr. William Shakespeare sure knew what he was talking about.
Sleep is a beautiful experience.
Between Jeannie C. Blackmore's text and Elizabeth Sayles'
illustrations, How Does Sleep Come? is one of the sweetest, most
delicate, dearest bedtime read alouds ever.
As his mother tenderly tucks him into bed Jacob asks her this
question. She builds poetic word pictures.
"Sleep comes peacefully.
Like a cat that curls up cozily
in front of a warm fire
and kneads its paws as it purrs."
He snuggles into his blankets, yawns, shuts his eyes, and drifts off
to dreamland.
I think the best feature of this book, though, is the potential
effect on a parent for whom getting a child down is just one on a
labyrinthian lists of tasks. Hopefully it can make the mom or dad
slow down and treasure those precious moments...
...before they're gone forever.
On a personal note, as someone who finds heat and humidity unconducive
to slumber (married to someone with very different temperature
perception) I have been greatly enjoying this week's delightfully
breezy evenings and sound, dream filled, refreshing sleeps.
A great big shout out goes out to all who are wise enough to value
good sleeps.
jules hathaway


Sent from my iPod