Customer Reviews

The Sea Of Sleep

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This is a truly lovely book that uses evocative phrases and lyrical text to describe a baby otter gently preparing for sleep: what an effective good night tale that encourages a child to quiet down to listen to the sibilant phrase, "Sea of Sleep" repeated in a soothing quatrain: Drifting. Floating. Lightly gliding/ On the Sea of Sleep tonight./ Rocking, Swaying. Slowly sailing/ On toward the morning light. Beginning with the inside cover pages, gorgeous acrylic and colored pencil double spreads give superlative glimpses of the ocean and seashore that draw the eye into its boundless depths. The book opens with a breathtaking double spread that shows the solicitous mother otter leading her baby to the water while in the distance a mother walks along the seashore with her child. The poetic text says, "The Sea of Sleep is calm tonight. Calm and still. Her quiet ripples tiptoe on the shore, kissing quickly, then run away again, slipping swiftly back across the sand, carrying away the footprints of the day". The text in either white or black print stands out clearly against the beautiful colors of the sea and sand. One particularly marvelous picture shows the mother and baby otter silhouetted against the moon face that is dipping into the ocean as the text reads, "It is the moon and all the stars. And the darkness, As it wraps us in its loving arms And holds us safe and warm". Highly recommended.

My little son bought this book for me at his school book fair. When I read it, it brought tears to my eyes it was so beautiful. This magical book will be a very special memory for every child and parent who reads it. In it, a mother otter and her child drift peacefully in the loving arms of the sea and moon. This is the ultimate bedtime story, and somehow much more than that. Stunning illustrations.

Warren Hanson's THE SEA OF SLEEP tells of a baby otter who rocks on the waves in the protection of his mother's arms. But the sea holds much life and attraction: how can baby otter sleep with so much going on around him? A gentle bedtime story will delight parents with lovely drawings by Jim LaMarche.