Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive [Library Binding]

Thacher Hurd (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A sleepy car floats up to a small boy's bedroom window and takes him for a nighttime drive. So begins a dreamy journey high above the clouds and over the moon -- all the way to Pajama Land, where cars circle and dance, and sleepy people dream the night away. Luminous pastels seem to glow with moonlight. Words, soft and soothing, will coax the most reluctant sleepyhead into bed.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–A '50s-era blue Cadillac convertible, tail fins alight, floats by a sleepy child's bedroom window and invites him into its soft snuggly seats for a ride. Powered with dreams, the vehicle floats above the fog into the star- and moonlit night. It travels over the ocean where "the dolphins sing a sleepy song," other drowsy cars circling with it as it travels. Other riders sit back and relax or cavort on car hoods, and finally "all the eyes droop and all the heads nod, and everyone dreams the night away." Then it's back down to the child's bedroom window where he climbs into bed, "soft and warm all around." Surrounded by the soft blues, blacks, and violets of the night sky, the car and its entourage have ample space to ride across full spreads. Hurd's loose, broad strokes, executed in pastels and pastel pencils; the swirls of white clouds with their sleeping inhabitants; and the faces with undefined features all combine to create a dreamy atmosphere. A bedtime journey that will lull tired travelers into a cozy night's sleep.–Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

PreS-K. Cleverly harnessing the soporific effects of evening car journeys, Hurd's newest book encourages children to imagine themselves aboard a magical Cadillac. After stopping at a whimsical service station to "fill up the tank with dreams," a 1950s convertible conveys a child to "Pajama Land," where cars drift and dance until their sleepy passengers nod off to sleep. The old-fashioned cars won't have much resonance for children, but nostalgic adults' enthusiasm for the old Checker cabs and classic woodies pictured will surely prove infectious. The text's present-tense, second-person voice ("The sleepy Cadillac stops by your window. Climb aboard.") involves listeners directly in the nighttime enchantment, and repeated rhythms and alliterative sounds mimic an engine's hypnotic hum. Hurd's smudged, glowing pastels are equally lulling, although his impressionistic style evokes mood more successfully than it produces clean compositions and distinct, appealing figures. Still, this is a rare, welcome end-of-day option for children who demand stories about things with wheels. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060730218
• ISBN-13: 978-0060730215
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a perfect bedtime read, December 5, 2005

By 

Sandy Hartley Schuh "sandy shoe" (huron, ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive (Hardcover)

I borrowed this book from the library for my 2 1/2 yr old son. It's requested not only every night but during the day. The story is a delight to read and the illustrations wonderful, enchanting. I am looking forward to adding this to my son's bookshelf.

5.0 out of 5 stars A sweet book for classic car lovers of all ages..., December 26, 2008

By 

Geek (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive (Library Binding)

Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive is a charming children's bedtime story about a beautiful blue Eldorado with plush white leather interior inviting a little boy for a sleepytime drive. The reader is addressed as "you" and the second-person narrative gives the story a sense of immediacy and the feel of an invitation to join in this dreamy drive.

It's also an ode to a lovely old convertible Cadillac Eldorado (ca. 1959 judging from the tailfins), complete with wide whitewall tires. The illustrations have the feel of a loving tribute -- perhaps the artist has an affection for classic cars... The art is lovely, the colors and landscapes are dreamy and beautifully capture the magic of dusk-to-night lighting. The cars are rendered very realistically down to the interior details and shiny chrome (my reason for thinking that the artist loves them), and the "dreamland dancers" include a 1955 Eldorado among other old favorite antique wheels. The dancing cars in dreamland are cute for little children and heart-warming for adult car junkies.

Even if you don't have children on your gift list, this book is a charming gift for a classic car aficionado.

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely love this book, January 10, 2008

By 

Sharon R. Carpenter (University Place, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive (Hardcover)

My son and I have loved this book since we got it, and I have purchased copies for gifts. It is definitely a night time read, slow and soothing, sending your little one off to have wonderful dreams. I wish we could find a toy Cadillac like the one featured in this story.