Little Donkey Close Your Eyes [Paperback]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Ashley Wolff (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1998 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

As night falls, animals from around the world--including a little monkey, some silly sheep, and five little kittens--end their busy days and close their eyes to sleep.
This classic bedtime poem written by the beloved author of Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, and illustrated by award-winning artist Ashley Wolff, will gently rock little ones to sleep.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wolff treats Brown's bedtime poem to luminous, large-scale pictures that glow with the radiance and precision of stained glass. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-This tender, musical, onomatopoetic poem addressed to a sleepy child smoothly and soothingly slides along as each baby creature is gently exhorted to stop its activities and close its eyes. Some are winningly mischievous: the donkey makes faces, the monkey throws coconuts, the piglet squeals. Others are quietly sweet: the lambs graze, the wild birds peep, and the kittens snuggle. In a superb format each verse, in large, handsome type, is set on a black framed square perfectly integrated into the accompanying illustration and printed in a harmonizing color. These frames emphasize the bold, clearly defined figures, also outlined in black, on a rich nighttime palette of blues, greens, browns, terracottas, and purples. Details of the backgrounds impinge upon the frames, softening and varying the overall effects and drawing all of the elements into a unified whole. The settings vary from lush jungles to dry mesas to corn-filled fields to piney woods, representing areas throughout the world. Suffused with peace, beauty, warmth, and reassurance, the book is a bedtime gem.
Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperTrophy (October 31, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064435075
• ISBN-13: 978-0064435079
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,471,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > Sleep

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the 'go to sleep' library!, November 29, 1999

By 

Elizabeth A. Good (Hollsopple, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Donkey Close Your Eyes (Hardcover)

I love reading this book to my niece (age 3) and nephew (age 1) at bedtime--it's on their 'most requested' list! The illustrations are very beautiful and peaceful and the overall themes of love and security are just what children (and adults) need in this wild world! The soft sounds in the text of the story are very dreamy and sleep inducing. Lovely!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A toddler must have!, October 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Little Donkey Close Your Eyes (Hardcover)

This has been my 3-year-old's favorite bedtime (and morning time, and afternoon time...) book since he was 2. The soothing rhymes are so relaxing. Beautifully illustrated. We've had the copy from our church library for so long we decided we needed to invest in our own. If you like Goodnight Moon, you'll love Little Donkey. If you don't care for Goodnight Moon, you'll love Little Donkey. A wonderful investment!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it, love it, love it, July 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Little Donkey Close Your Eyes (Hardcover)

The sweet illustrations are nice and the wonderful rythym of this story is absolutely the best. It has a rhyming text that is peaceful and tranquil and the most wonderful thing to read your little ones (and maybe big ones) to sleep with. We love it.