Dreams I'll dream tonight Author: Ruhl, Sarah | ||
Price: $23.98 |
Summary:
When it is time to go to bed, a child asks their parent to read them one more book to help them dream of only good things.
Illustrator: | Deng, Sally |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (04/01/25)
School Library Journal (07/04/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Other - 05/12/2025 Sweet dreams replace would-be nightmares in this surrealistically reassuring bedtime book. Narrated from a pale-skinned, dark-haired child’s point of view, first-person rhymes request "just one more book" as a defense against bad dreams. The child also wills positive, sometimes absurdist alternatives: "Tonight I won’t have nightmares./ No bad dreams for me.// Instead, I’m going to dream about// a hippo sipping tea." Deng fully realizes Ruhl’s poetic nighttime visions with flowing, curvaceous markings and gentle, paper-texturized coloring. Verse and visuals alike reach their otherworldly pinnacle in a spread capturing "a dream inside a dream," where the subject mingles with East Asian-cued imagery of koi fish, a bowl of noodles, cherry blossoms, and more. As concluding moments center on the predictable comfort to be found in a child-caregiver relationship, a final prompt urges readers to express their own dream-time wishes. Ages 4-8. (July) - Copyright 2025
School Library Journal - 07/04/2025 PreS-Gr 2—Who can resist just one more story, especially if it means keeping the bad dreams away? This digitally illustrated story provides beautiful pictures to go with the tale that turns bears (bad dream) into pears (better dream). It follows a predictive pattern that describes in words and pictures how a bad dream can be turned around. The story includes rhyming words. The illustrations match the descriptions in the book and provide readers with a vivid walk through the land of dreams. Children will enjoy reading or listening to the words and illustrations. Additionally, this title will help tame those bedtime woes of dreaded bad dreams and help turn it into a positive time for all. VERDICT A great bedtime read-aloud that's not essential to collections, but a winsome take on a childhood problem.—Tara Rollins - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
