Time Now to Dream

PreS-K--Alice and her younger brother, Jack, follow the strains of an odd melody into the woods near their home, overcoming their fears and discovering ordinary magic in the process. While playing catch, they overhear an eerie tune that seems garbled by the breeze and distance. Knapman's text adheres to a pattern, which makes this ideal for sharing aloud. Jack inquires about the noise they hear, concerned it is the "Wicked Wolf," and Alice calms him, stating, "Shhh, Everything is going to be all right." They move further into the dark woods, with Jack repeating his questions and adding more to his Wicked Wolf each time until the beast has "big bad claws" and "snap-trap jaws." Alice encourages them both to be brave until they are right upon the source of the strange sounds. Panicked, she turns to flee, but Jack stands fast, for he sees their terrors are for naught. The Wicked Wolf is really a she-wolf "singing her babies to sleep." A spread reveals the beautiful wolf and her three cubs in the forefront while the two children peer in wonder from the trees behind her. Oxenbury's pencil and watercolor illustrations are soft and lovely, depicting nature in its uncomplicated joy. Now, as fear is blown away, the lullaby's words are clear to the children, and it's Jack's turn to tell Alice that "everything is all right." VERDICT This gentle, quiet read is an excellent addition to most picture book collections.--Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Playing in their yard on the edge of a forest, Alice and her younger brother, Jack, hear a strange noise wafting from the woods: "Ocka by hay beees unna da reeees." Jack is certain that it's the Wicked Wolf, but Alice insists they explore (mindful of her big-sister duties, she holds Jack's hand and promises him several times that "everything is going to be all right"). Oxenbury's (Captain Jack and the Pirates) watercolors, rendered in pale yellows and greens, hark back to similar journeys in classic fairy tales. The eerie noises continue--Knapman (Dinosaurs Don't Have Bedtimes) devises more weird but oddly familiar words--the forest darkens, the Wicked Wolf looms larger in Jack's imagination, and Alice panics. Finally, their nemesis is revealed, in Jack's words, as a "mommy" wolf "singing her babies to sleep." Turning the page, readers see a huge wolf lovingly crooning to her trio of adoring, drowsy pups, framed by soft green leaves. It's impossible not to linger on this image and savor its poignancy. The delicious escalation of suspense is replaced with a quiet sense of wonder, making this story a winner. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Just the right combination of fairy tale and bedtime book, scary and soothing...Oxenbury's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations underscore the text's timeless feel and add whimsy with just the right touch of eeriness. Her ever-so-slightly anthropomorphized wolves and sun-dappled forest are as inviting as anything she's done. Time now to savor this lovely offering.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Turning the page, readers see a huge wolf lovingly crooning to her trio of adoring, drowsy pups, framed by soft green leaves. It's impossible not to linger on this image and savor its poignancy. The delicious escalation of suspense is replaced with a quiet sense of wonder, making this story a winner.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Helen Oxenbury's beautiful pencil-and-watercolor illustrations follow two children braving a dark forest to find the source of an enigmatic song in 'Time Now to Dream', a picture book by Timothy Knapman...For children ages 3-7 this is that loveliest sort of bedtime adventure, one that alternates between vicarious fear and loving reassurance and that builds to a surprising revelation.
—The Wall Street Journal

Oxenbury's pencil and watercolor illustrations are soft and lovely, depicting nature in its uncomplicated joy. Now, as fear is blown away, the lullaby's words are clear to the children, and it's Jack's turn to tell Alice that "everything is all right." This gentle, quiet read is an excellent addition to most picture book collections.
—School Library Journal

This flight of fancy, which ends with the children in bed, is wound with both adventure and safety as well as heaps of sweetness.
—Booklist

Author and illustrator gently turn folktale conventions on their heads for this don't-be-afraid bedtime story...the eventual appearance of the wolf—and her pups!—is sweet indeed.
—The Horn Book

The charming illustrations will help to reassure little ones that even when they are scared, everything will be alright. A perfect blend of classic bedtime story, adventure, and sweet prose, this story will surely help any reluctant child drift off to sleep.
—School Library Connection