Reviews for The rabbit who wants to fall asleep

Publishers Weekly
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The adventurous and ever-energetic Roger Rabbit is taken on a slumbering adventure by his mom to get him to fall asleep. Ehrlin tells a fun, short tale that can be used to help guide children to sleep. This production has two recorded versions of the story-one read by a man (Sanders) and one by a woman (McInerney). Both narrators succeed in delivering the tale in slow and calm voices that invite heavy eyelids and a relaxed disposition. The narration is accompanied by soft tonal music that only further induces a somnolent mood for listeners. Ehrlin uses repetition of sleep-related terms (tired, asleep, drowsy) to further nudge a child toward sleep and both narrators grab hold of such words and add soft emphases when possible, such as drawing out the word or even yawning through them. Though presented for children, this production could be quite useful in helping adults fall asleep. Ages 3-6. A Crown picture book (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

It makes sense that the biggest originally self-published best-seller since 50 Shades of Grey appeals to that other inescapable adult human drive: to get kids to conk out. But Adam Mansbach's Go the Fuck to Sleep (2011) this is not. Behavioral scientist Ehrlin bases his picture book on powerful psychological techniques meant to speed little ones to the Land of Nod. It starts with instructions: boldface text should be emphasized, italicized text should be spoken softly. If this sounds like good old watch-the-amulet hypnotism, well, that's how it plays out. The plot, such as it is, follows Roger The Rabbit (the book has odd capitalization and punctuation throughout) as he travels with Mommy Rabbit to gather snooze tips from Sleepy Snail, Heavy-Eyed Owl, and Uncle Yawn. The remedial illustrations of anthropomorphic animals are afterthoughts to the extensive text, which is a relentlessly boring (maybe that's the point?) cycle of repetition (going to sleep, now ; now, you will fall asleep) and relaxation techniques (Relax your entire upper body). It's hard to chant such lines without feeling like a member of a pseudoscience cult, and one cringes at the copycats to come. But, hey, anything for a quiet night, right? HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: After the sudden rise and media coverage of the self-published original, Random House scooped up the rights, so here comes a second push. Curious parents will be tempted to try this legal sedative.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2015 Booklist


Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

That this title, originally self-published, became an international bestseller says a lot more about the desperation of parents of sleepless children than it does about the quality of the book.It opens with a lengthy note to adults that waggishly warns them of its soporific effects and then provides detailed instructions about how to read it. The story that follows is stupendously boring, but that's clearly intentional. Young Roger the Rabbit really wants to fall asleep, but he can'the doesn't seem to know how. So Mommy Rabbit dispatches him, along with "you," to see Uncle Yawn. Along the way, "you" and he meet Sleepy Snail and Heavy-Eyed Owl, both of whom impart somnolence tricks. They are so effective that both "you" and Roger are practically asleep even before reaching Uncle Yawn, but somehow the two press on, are sprinkled with "powerful, magical, and invisible sleeping powder," and then drag themselves back home and conk out. Amateurish illustrations on verso (so negligible that the opening note suggests not showing them) oppose astonishingly text-heavy pages on recto. Key phrases in the text are printed in italic or boldface type, the latter calculated to deliver not-so-subtle subliminal suggestions to "fall asleep now." Practitioners of yoga will recognize Heavy-Eyed Owl's standard relaxation techniques. If the book works, it's because children will be bored to sleep, but it's a lot more likely that exhausted adults will succumb before their little ones do. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.


School Library Journal
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PreS-Gr 2-Roger the Rabbit cannot fall asleep. His father has nodded off, as have his siblings. His mother suggests that she and Roger take a walk to visit Uncle Yawn, "who was the world's kindest wizard and who lived just on the other side of the meadow." Written with a specific language pattern based on psychological techniques, this rather verbose picture book offers harried and desperate parents the promise of a magical story that will soothe their children to sleep, while offering relaxation and mindfulness techniques to help children take control of their thoughts and prepare for slumber. The artwork is mediocre and does not enhance the text. But according to the author's note in the front of the book, the artwork matters little; Ehrlin tells parents that "it is best if the child is lying down while listening, instead of looking at the pictures, so that he or she can relax even more." Ultimately, the book is instructional and didactic, specifically written for children who experience great difficulty winding down at the end of the day. VERDICT Most people should stick with the bedtime classics that soothe and calm, such as Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, Mem Fox's Time for Bed, or Peggy Rathman's Goodnight Gorilla.-Lisa Kropp, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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