It's Time to Sleep, My Love

It's Time To Sleep, My Love, is a lovely bedtime book for a boy or a girl. It is one of the few books we own that completely captures my little boy's attention. He sits and studies the big, fanciful watercolor illustrations and listens to the soothing refrains of the verses and is lulled into a quieter state. He knows it's his special bedtime story and loves it.Every page is generously illustrated with lavish watercolors of children and animals winding down for a night's rest. For example, you have a small child perched on the back of a drifting swan as though going on the journey of sleep amd dreams for the evening. There is a child curled up with a sleeping panda in the fork of a tree branch. The interactions between people and children really appeal to small ones and encourage them to use their imaginations.I found the soothing, repetitious verses with the refrain of "It's time to sleep, my love" to be soothing. The School Lobrary Journal criticized the writing stating that it was too redundant. My son finds it restful and it lulls him to sleep. They also complained that some of the verses would trip up parent tongues. I found the beauty of the words and verses to be old-fashioned and a little reminiscent of old poetry. We used to appreciate finding beauty and meaning in words, and it is beneficial to children to make them think. Overall, I thought the wording was fanciful, simple, and lovely.I highly recommend this book for your child and hope you get as much enjoyment out of the bedtime tradition as we have.

We just got these two books yesterday and I'm blown away by both of them. My two-year-old is more of a Harold fan right now (Harold and the Purple Crayon) and has been put out with me for reading these the two times I have so far, but I'm sure when he gives them a listen he'll love them. I can see these books lasting for many years to come. I have to disagree with what appears to be the majority and say that I've found this a slightly better book than "On the Night You Were Born." Perhaps it's just my personal taste. I'll try to highlight the reasons I like this one better.It's time to sleep my love:Has more spectacular illustrations, in my opinionRhymes are all perfect, or nearlyRhythm is perfect, (the reason it's described as a lullaby)Text is more evenly distributed, 1-2 lines per page (4 or so on the last few pages) so each page gets roughly equal face time without disrupting the story, also helps with the soothing bedtime rhythm.Is so sweet it makes me cry every timeOn the Night You Were Born:Also has beautiful illustrationsRhymes are sometimes there, sometimes not, which works if you know what's coming but this annoys me a bitRhythm also works if you know what's coming but is not even throughoutText is not as evenly distributed. One page has three words and another has eight lines. You have to flip past the short ones pretty quickly to keep the story moving which is sad because they're so beautiful I'd like to spend a little more time on each. This is not a big deal and the book is still wonderfulAlso is so sweet it makes me cry every timeTells kids that they are unique and special and lovedGet both these books, you'll be happy you did!

What a beautiful book. I just love all of Nancy tillman’s baby books. They are gorgeously illustrated and rhyme so well. In love.

Great gift for a new baby. Wonderful and peaceful book.

This is one of my favorite bedtime stories for children. I have bought this as a baby gift more times than I can count. The writing is simple and soothing and the illustrations are beautiful. I have loved all of the Nancy Tillman books I have read, but this one is my favorite. If you’re looking for the perfect new baby gift, this is it!

Children's books should be beautiful in every possible way. The words. The author's intent. The illustrations. This addition to Nancy Tillman's wonderful series of children's books is worthy of her name. The charmingly imaginative illustrations and story will lull your child to sleep full of beautiful thoughts and feelings of love and contentment. It is truly an enchanting experience to read this story to a child you love. Five stars.

This book is very similar in style to the popular kid's book "On the Night You Were Born." This book has the same artist but a different author. Personally, I like this one quite a bit more. It is perfect to read to little ones right before bed, and even puts me in the mood to snooze. Our daughter enjoys it and it is now what we read to her right before bed. There are a lot of kids books out there with many different messages. For this book, the message is reflected in the title and reads like a poem. You can't go wrong with this one.

My little one and I had worn out our first copy, spine completely fell apart & pages hanging on by a thread. And still we read it. I finally decided to replace our extremely well-loved copy for a new one. We call it our “sleepy book”, as the way it flows makes us sleepy! Perfect bedtime story. Now that my daughter is older she loves pointing out the moon on every page, and pointing out the “mommy” and “baby” animals. The illustrations are my favorite part -“so drones the drowsy bumblebee inside its hive inside its tree” is my favorite page for the text AND the illustration. I know this book by heart, love love love it.I noticed Tillman didnt write it, and thats why I think I love this one so much! The other books can come off religious (not what some are looking for). We do own the “on the night you were born” book and its ok. But i cant help but think its setting up my kid for future heartache when it describes all of the animals dancing to celebrate her birth.... she is so so special, however the delusions of grandeur surrounding this generation are a bit scary! Bring on humility. Just seems a bit cheesy maybe.This is the best of both words. Illustrated by Tillman but not written by Tillman. Hoping they collaborate again soon!