I'm not Sleepy!

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Author: Jonathan Allen

Recommended for Ages: 2 thru 5

About: Bedtime Challenges

 

“I’m not Sleepy!” is a story of a charming baby owl, who wants to avoid bedtime. Baby owl
meets many forest animals that bring to his attention that he looks sleepy; he is yawning,
stretching, and closing his eyes. Despite this, baby owl denies being tired, stating he is not
sleepy and that his body signals are typical of owls; he stretches because he has wings and is
learning to fly and he closes his eyes because he is a wise owl who needs to think! Children find
baby owl quite comical as he displays a variety of gestures and tones of voice. Children laugh
aloud as you read aloud baby owls’ grumpy response, “I’m not sleepy!” Baby Owl does not
want to miss a thing, but the longer he stays awake, the grumpier he becomes. Ultimately,
baby owl’s father calls him out on his grumpiness and suggests reading a book to help him get
to sleep. As baby owl’s father sweeps him up, baby owl begins to protest once again and falls
asleep mid sentence.
Baby Owl is like many sleepy, grumpy children who are very tired but do not want to go to bed
because they don’t want to miss a thing. I’ve suggested this book to parents and have read it
countless times to my own 2 year old, who often wants to stay awake at bedtime. This book’s
humor is catchy and lends itself to the reader. My own child laughs aloud as I use a small
stuffed owl to act out the scenes as we read. This book helps decrease the amount of stress as
you begin the bedtime routine. There will be days, where my wiggly 2 year old will shout aloud,
“No sleep!” I jokingly tell her she sounds like the grumpy baby owl from our book and quickly
remind her that baby owl will be helping us read our bedtime stories; this usually is quite
helpful and she is eager to hear the story!

Reviewer: Maria Santos, LCSW

Early Childhood Consultant
Early Childhood Consultation Partnership