Book review: It Is Not Time for Sleeping (A Bedtime Story), by Lisa Graff, illustrated by Lauren Castillo

Graff, Lisa ; Lauren Castillo (illustrations). It Is Not Time for Sleeping (A Bedtime Story). Clarion Books, 2016. Unpaged. $16.99. ISBN 9780544319301. Ages 4-6. P8Q7

A child, dog, mother and father go through evening rituals in this cumulative repetitive story, with the refrain, “It is not time for sleeping.” Then, a final hug brings this bedtime story to a close.  As the evening advances from sunset skies during dinner to the moon shining through a window, the clear, warm watercolor illustrations gather more and more shadows, though even the darkened rooms have warm colors in the darkness.

Verdict: This is a comforting bedtime story, reflecting evening rituals in a nuclear family.  Nothing in the text of the book indicates the child’s gender.  Unfortunately, the jacket blurb refers to the child as “he”, limiting the appeal of the book to little boys.  I think it’s a poor choice on the part of the publicity team.  Also, the book is text heavy and does not rhyme, though cumulative repetition does make it accessible for small children.  Recommended for public library collections.

March 2018 review by Jane Cothron.