Close Your Eyes [Hardcover]

Kate Banks (Author), Georg Hallensleben (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

A little tiger takes an imaginative journey

The little tiger lay on his back in the tall grass.
"Close your eyes, little tiger," said his mother, "and go to sleep."

But the little tiger is worried about what sleep might bring.
His mother reassures him that once he closes his eyes, he will dream of magical places. And when he awakens, she will be right there, waiting for him.

Alternating between real-life scenes with the baby tiger and his mother and enchanted dream scenes of sleep's possibilities, Kate Banks's simple, comforting text and Georg Hallensleben's bright, colorful illustrations make this a charming bedtime story for small children.

 

Close Your Eyes is a 2002 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A mother tiger wants her baby to go to sleep, but the little tiger resists. "'If I close my eyes,' he said, 'I can't see the sky.'" She assures him that he will not only see the sky when he sleeps, but will float among clouds and be cradled by the moon. Not in the least assured, the little tiger complains that if he closes his eyes, he will miss seeing the tree and the bird with blue feathers. With each concern, his mother consoles him with a comforting thought. If this gentle give-and-take were not calming enough for a bedtime story, Hallensleben's lovely dreamscapes (And If the Moon Could Talk) will surely do the trick. Double-page paintings of cloud animal shapes (with the little tiger cozying up with the moon), the "big mountains where the rain lives," and of mother tiger licking her baby are utterly hypnotic. Young children who are afraid to go to sleep will learn that "Dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams" and that mom is never very far away. (Ages 3 to 6) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Banks and Hallensleben further develop the bedtime theme of And If the Moon Could Talk and The Night Worker, this time with the antics of a restless tiger cub. On a sunny midafternoon in a tropical forest, a mother tiger persuades her son to take a nap. "If I close my eyes, I can't see the sky," the mischievous tiger protests, in a portrait framed by the white page. "Yes you can.... You can even float among the clouds," his mother promises, as a fantasy spread pictures fluffy animal-shaped clouds and the little feline reclining in a half-moon; alternating full-bleed images like this one suggest the listener is relaxing into a dream. At last, the cub squeezes his eyes shut. "It's dark," he says. "Dark like your stripes," his mother observes. Banks styles the text as a give-and-take, while Hallensleben sets the jungle scene in impasto layers of sapphire, jade and aquamarine that complement the yellow-orange of the tigers' coats. Roughly hewn paintings depict the patient mother as a bona-fide predator, and her son as a cuddly fellow with bright black eyes, round ears and an upturned smile. Banks and Hallensleben conspicuously borrow the strategy of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's classic The Runaway Bunny, which similarly toggles between reality and reverie, and likewise ends with the mother having the last word. At this book's satisfying close, the son falls asleep as his mother promises to be there when he wakes. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374313822
• ISBN-13: 978-0374313821
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful bedtime book!, April 2, 2003

By 

L. Vince (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Your Eyes (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book that my 20mo old adores. Its about a little tiger who is scared to go to sleep at night. The mother tiger comforts him and explains to him that he doesnt need to be scared and that she will be right there if he needs her. One of the quotes is so beautiful, the mother tiger says to the baby tiger "dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams." My heart melted when I read that for the first time and I thought that was a perfect way to tell a child that its ok to close your eyes and go to sleep. This book will be a big hit at bedtime!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Kids at Bedtime, and for Tiger Fans All Times, November 30, 2002

By 

P. Falina (Belfast, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Your Eyes (Hardcover)

This is a delightful little book, about a tiger cub who doesn't want to go to sleep as his mom directs. He doesn't want to let go of his wonderful day-time world by closing his eyes. His mom coaches him along the way, about all the wonders he can see in his imagination, and then in his dreams. Most importantly, she assures him that she always will be there to protect him.

The illustrations are fanciful and utterly non-threatening. I come from a bunch that loves tigers anyway, but even if you're a little wary of "large, ferocious animals", as someone once put it to me, don't pass this one up. There is no ferocity here; there is only gentleness and a mother's love.

... Don't pass this one by!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Bedtime Story....., January 23, 2003

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Close Your Eyes (Hardcover)

"The little tiger lay on his back in the tall grass. "Close your eyes, little tiger," said his mother, "and go to sleep." But the little tiger didn't want to sleep. "If I close my eyes," he said, "I can't see the sky..." So begins author, Kate Banks, and illustrator Georg Hallensleben's third bedtime story collaboration, and this dynamic duo justs gets better with each book. Little tiger has all kinds of excuses for not closing his eyes. He won't be able to see the sky, or the trees, or the bird with blue feathers. When he closes his eyes, the world is dark, and he's afraid. But his patient mother is there with just the right reassuring words, telling him about the wonderful places he'll go in his dreams. And when he wakes up, she reminds him, his dreams will be gone, but she will be right there, cuddled next to him..... Ms Banks gentle, lyrical text is warm and engaging, and filled with imagery and magic. Mr Hallensleben's evocative, bold and bright lush jungle scenes dazzle with vivid color and expression. Together word and art create a soothing and captivating bedtime story preschoolers will beg to read, night after night. Like their other nightime books, And If The Moon Could Talk and The Night Worker, Close Your Eyes is a winner that shouldn't be missed.