Please Don't Wake the Animals: A Book About Sleep [Hardcover]

Mary Batten (Author), Higgins Bond (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

All people sleep. So do all other mammals. Birds sleep, too. Even snakes, fish, and insects have a way of sleeping. How different animals sleep on land, in water, and in the air and the special ways they do it is the subject of this fascinating book for young readers.

Using accessible language and scientifically accurate terms, author Mary Batten shows how animals sleep in very different ways and for various lengths of time depending on their size, their physiology, and their habitat. From three-toed sloths hanging from tree branches to dolphins dozing near the ocean s surface, Batten presents a rich variety of wildlife and animal behavior. Additional information about the featured animals as well as simple explanations of terms such as hibernation and torpor are included in sidebars throughout the book.

Enhancing the text are illustrator Higgins Bond s vivid, realistic wildlife illustrations feature animals in their natural environments.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1–4—A three-toed sloth hanging upside down in a tree and a parrotfish spinning a cocoon "of mucous that comes from special glands underneath its gill covers" are among the widely varied species featured in this picture-book introduction to sleep behavior. A slim column of text next to each double-page view explains how the featured animal sleeps. An introductory statement set in a color block appears atop each text segment: "Snakes sleep in protected places when the temperature gets too cold or too hot." Topics include nocturnal and diurnal sleep, hibernation, torpor, underwater sleep, and animals that sleep while flying or swimming. The acrylic paintings depict reasonably realistic views of the animals in their habitats with an occasional garish portrait. The sketchy discussion is often wooden in tone. Still, the book does include interesting bits of information that may attract animal fans. Robert Matero's Animals Asleep (Millbrook, 2000), which is illustrated with photographs, is longer and more informative.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
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From Booklist

Far from your cozy bedtime lullaby, this big, bright picture book is an exciting way to talk about the biology that connects humans with many kinds of animals. All animals sleep, and in all kinds of places. Predators can sleep quite safely (Who would bother a sleeping lion?). Their prey, however, must stay alert, hardly daring to sleep at all, as illustrated by a picture of antelope in the African savannah. The nocturnal animals mentioned include cats, mice, owls, and bats. A double-page spread about dolphins and whales explains that ocean mammals take many short naps. There’s also information about animals that hibernate: how they do it, where, and why. Preschool-Grade 3. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561453935
• ISBN-13: 978-1561453931
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,074,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Batten is an award-winning writer for television, film and publishing. Her many writing projects have taken her into tropical rainforests, astronomical observatories, scientific laboratories and medical research centers. She is the author of 15 nature/science books for adults and children, dozens of magazine articles and some 50 television scripts for Time-Life Films, National Geographic, Walt Disney Educational Media and others. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the Children's Television Workshop's 3-2-1 CONTACT series. Her books include Sexual Strategies: How Females Choose Their Mates, which The New York Times called "Fun and delightful to read, offering an abundance of fascinating facts." This book led to an appearance on OPRAH. Her children's book, Aliens from Earth: When Animals and Plants Invade Other Ecosystems, won the 2006 Izaak Walton League of America Conservation Book of the Year Award and was adopted by New York City Public Schools in support of the 4th grade science requirement for study of ecosystems. Her children's book, Baby Wolf, was selected by both Scholastic and Troll Book clubs. Her magazine articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, Modern Maturity and others. Her magazine article for Science Digest, "Sexual Choice: The Female's Newly Discovered Role," won The Newswomen's Club of New York's Front Page Award for best feature story. She is married to composer Ed Bland. They have two children: dancer/choreographer Stefanie Batten Bland and writer Robert Bland.

Website: http://www.marybatten.com
Blog: http://thinkaboutwriting.blogspot.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent bedtime "story" for young naturalists, March 19, 2008

By 

Sue Corbett "Miami Herald Children's Book Rev... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Please Don't Wake the Animals: A Book About Sleep (Hardcover)

We read a lot of stories here at bedtime but it is so wonderful to find a nonfiction title that fits cozily into that right-before-lights-out mix. This new book by Batten is a gentle, interesting look at how important sleep is, and how sleep patterns, postures, and places vary among the creatures of the earth. It's also appropriately playful. (The opening sentence is: "Shhh. Please don't wake the animals in this book. They are sleeping." That sets a wonderful, respectful mood for a bedtime read-aloud, in addition to being funny!) The interesting facts (elephants sleep only 3 to 4 hours a day!) are perfectly complemented by Bond's cozy paintings (I especially love the lion looking totally vulnerable, sleeping confidently with its belly exposed to the sun, because, of course, "Who would bother a sleeping lion?") An excellent book on all fronts -- a great classroom gift for a teacher, too.