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PRESCHOOL
Salsbury, Sandra

The Baby Who Stayed Awake Forever

40 pp. | Doubleday | March, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780593805879 $18.99 | Library ISBN 9780593805886 $21.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593805893 $8.99
(2) PS Mama, Papa, and Sister lovingly put Baby to bed at eight o’clock, but “sleeping is for koalas and teenagers. This baby intended to stay awake forever.” At nine o’clock it’s time to throw binkies, at ten o’clock Baby is overly curious about Papa’s face, and so on throughout the night. Climbing, falling, crying, and dancing don’t wear out this tot. “At 3 o’clock...Baby’s eyes...began...to blink,” but after a slight doze, it’s full steam ahead into a new day, if only “her lazy family” would wake up. Throughout, Salsbury channels sleepless, stressed-out parents and the mindset of a baby (“At 2 o’clock, Baby laughed at a joke only she understood. At 2:15, Baby yelled a bit. At 2:30, she laughed at her own yelling”). Humorous illustrations show her well-intentioned family becoming increasingly frazzled when nothing works to calm her seemingly relentless energy. Speech bubble dialogue, motion lines, and baby sounds add to a dynamic layout featuring a mix of spreads, singles, and spots, the last of which really pop against their white backgrounds in stark contrast to the cool hues of the nighttime illustrations. Hand this picture book to all the bleary-eyed parents and older siblings of rambunctious babies who just don’t want to sleep...ever.
Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

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