SAILING OFF TO SLEEP

SAILING OFF TO SLEEP
Linda Ashman. Illustrations by Susan Winter.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001
32 pages, hardcover, $12.95
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
ISBN: 0-689-82971-X

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

It's nighttime, my little one.
Climb into bed.

I don't want to sleep--
I'll go sailing instead.

There's only one problem:
Your ship has no sail.

I'm tying my boat
To the tail of a whale.

The child who pays close attention to the opening page of this engaging story will be amply rewarded. The toy boat on the windowsill, and nearly all the stuffed animals nestled on the bed or strewn on the floor of the heroine's bedroom play a larger than life role as the tale unfolds.

Its spirited narrator, in her pajamas and robe, sets off on an imaginary voyage to the distant Arctic. When Mom posits potential dangers, the plucky young girl finds a way out of each one. If the ocean is icy and might sink her boat, she'll ask a fat walrus to keep her afloat. If it's freezing cold there, she'll cuddle up with a polar bear. She may not have her playmates to chase in this place, so she'll take on some auks in an ice-skating race.

In this graceful tug-of-war, the child asserts her independence, and Mom finally agrees to let her go, noting wistfully that she'll miss her. That's enough for this self-assured young girl. She decides to go to sleep tonight. Perhaps she'll go on her journey tomorrow.

The illustrations also testify to the power of a child's imagination. Children will enjoy finding the toy that inspires each vignette. Any parent who reads this book to a child, particularly a mother who shares it with her daughter, will find this pretend visit to a cold land makes them feel warm all over.