“Once there was a little girl who didn’t want to go to sleep even though the sun had gone away.” So begins the beautiful new book, Sleep Like a Tiger, written by the poet Mary Logue and illustrated by Caldecott Honor medalist Pamela Zagarenski.

Sleep Like a Tiger tells the story of a little girl who just doesn’t want to go to sleep – and what parent hasn’t had first-hand experience with that dilemma? The little girl asks her parents if everything in the world goes to sleep. They patiently guide her through her bedtime routine of putting on her pajamas, washing her face and climbing into bed, which she does while “stretching her toes down under the crisp sheets, lying still as an otter floating in a  stream.” All the while, the little girl’s parents tell her stories of how all the animals sleep. They paint pictures of little snails curled up like cinnamon buns, magnificent whales swimming circles in the ocean, the family dog curled up on the couch and the tiger asleep in the jungle. The accompanying illustrations are breathtaking and replete with an incredible level of detail, color and depth.

The imagery of the animals sleeping is so soothing, I don’t even think Little M, just like the little girl in the story, realizes that he is being lulled to sleep. Our favorite page is the last one, where the little girl has finally fallen asleep, all snuggled up right next to a majestic sleeping tiger – the larger than life version of her stuffed tiger toy. Little M and I enjoyed this story so much the first time we read it that it has quickly become part of our bedtime book rotation.

Little M also really loves the crown that we see perched atop the little girl’s head throughout the story. Come to think of it, I kind of love the idea of wearing a crown too (shhh). So I found this DIY crafting project on etsy for making the adorable gold paper crown pictured below. I hope you and your little ones enjoy crafting them and wearing them while you share this special bedtime story.