I'm not sure about this book. It is a poetic story about a young girl sleeping and having dreams, some nice, some scary. Sleep is depicted as a ghostlike shape who takes care of the girl during her dreams. I read this book to my grandchildren and they were kind of meh. As an adult I thought it was beautiful, but if the target audience does not connect with it, then it misses the mark. I will try to read it to them again another time, but there was just something about it that did not pull them in. The vocabulary was a bit difficult at times, so that might have been the issue or perhaps they did not like the scary parts, even though in the story, Sleep protected the young girl. Not one that I would recommend. The publisher, generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

Being a mother of two under 4, I was a bit jealous how much this little girl slept 😅 but it was a fabulous read in between tantrums with lovely illustrations

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations are kid of different and unique. That adds to the appeal of the book. While it's somewhat poetic, I think that sometimes the author tries a little too hard.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This adorable book is about a little girl and her "friend" sleep and all the adventures they go on. Lovely illustrations and a good idea about dreams that children might have when they sleep.

I wasn't able to read this because it didn't open for me and I tried many times. Which I was excited for My Friend Sleep by Laura Baker.

As a mother of two under two I remember a time long ago when sleep was my best friend. Loved reading this at bedtime

The best kind of children's stories are the ones that have a lyrical pace to them. Writing a children's book may seem easy, and maybe many are. Canadian born Laura Baker steps her writing in My Friend Sleep up to a level so many other children's books by turning the words into a poetry with a lullaby tempo. Paired up with the gorgeous illustrations of Hannah Peck from the UK, My Friend Sleep is sure to become a parent and children's favourite. This is the kind of story that could have the staying power of I'll Love You Forever and could be gifted to parents from their adult children in the future.
I honestly cannot say anything but good things about this gorgeous story about falling asleep and not being afraid of the dark. I wish I had this book as a child and cannot wait to gift it to all the little ones in my life.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

My Friend Sleep is a picturebook written by Laura Baker and illustratrated by Hannah Peck. This story is meant to help parents tackle the common issue of night terrors in young children. Readers travel alongside the main character through her dreams, and her friend Sleep. Greet friendly aliens, ride on a dragon's back and meet a scary monster, who turns out to be not-so scary after all. With Sleep by your side, nothing is as terrifying as it seems.

My Friend Sleep is a beautifully illustrated journey through dreamland. I liked how the artwork was dreamy and creative, following the imagination of the dreamer. I also like how it showed the good things that we can see in our dreams, and gives young readers a way to cope or change the bad that they might dream. The text and illustrations paired together well, and I think the overall effect was lovely. I am not sure if it will have the desired effect for children that are afraid to sleep and thus avoid bedtime and fight it, but I think it is well worth a try.

I didn't enjoy the illustrations entirely and I found some words difficult difficult to understand. It was an okay read.

I received a digital ARC copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely book about Sleep and all the amazing, weird and scary dreams we see. I love the illustrations especially the full page ones they are stunning.

Overall, it’s a good bedtime book.

As you nod off at night, Sleep is portrayed as a friend who comes to take you off on adventures. Very much told through simple pictures using light and dark for happy and frightening things respectively, dreams are made to be fun adventures through the night. Darker moments where fears are faced, soon become less frightening with Sleep there to guide you through.

This book would be grea5 for children who struggle with nightmares, showing that they are only dreams which leave before morning.

Many thanks to the publishers for giving me access to a copy of the book for review via NetGalley

A great book for the littles ones just before bed. The illustrations are so cute. The story is simple and easy for the little minds to digest. Highly recommend.

This book is a sweet story of dreams! Sleep is a friend who takes the main character through the dreams of the night. Sleep also empowers the child to turn a bad dream into something not so scary. This book is a beautiful work of art with lovely message for children drifting off to sleep. This one will be in our bedtime rotation for sure!

4★
“Sleep sings into my ear, and in my slumber I can hear,
‘Come with me, my friend, take hold of my hand.
Together we’ll travel through night’s dreamland.’

Sleep is a friendly, amorphous, cloud-like character who comes to visit this little ginger-haired child at night. The phrase about holding hands and travelling together is repeated as they experience the wonders, adventures and fears that await in the night.

At first, I wasn’t particularly taken with the story or the illustrations. I expected rhymes or a bit of wordplay and more colours. So I glanced through it briefly.

And then. . . then I noticed the changing tone of the story and the background. At first it was fun, adventurous, flying! [I love to fly in my dreams, although I’ve never ridden on a dragon! I dream all the time, but I’ve seldom had nightmares. But I digress.]

I went back and read it slowly and saw how reading this with someone who Is afraid of the dark, or afraid of falling asleep (letting go), or afraid of being asleep (loss of control) could be comforted with the thought that “Sleep” is a friendly cloud that takes care of you no matter where your adventures take you.

And if the dragon drops you in a dark cave, what then? Monsters? No problem – zap! It’s really a big hairy dog (remarkably like the child’s dog at the end).

“Sleep hands me a magic wand.
I swish and sway the wand through the air, singing:
‘Swirl, twirl... In my dreams, everything’s not what it seems!’”

People who experience lucid dreaming are able to know they are dreaming and direct their thoughts in particular ways. This is a way of encouraging kids to know that their friend Sleep will be with them so they won’t really fall over the cliff or be chased by monsters. Of course it also means they won’t get to eat all the sweets and ice cream at the carnival either, but they can have fun pretending while still defanging the monsters. That might help kids learn to want to go to sleep! (One lives in hope.)

I changed my mind about the limited colour palette, too. If greens or blues had been added, for example, it could have seemed too much like daytime and real life instead of the way rooms really look in the dark with a few cracks of light slipping in under the door or at the edges of a window. There are some bright imaginary scenes (still unreal) and some dark ones.

The last page is still the limited palette of colours, but the artist has made it cheery and sunny and sparkly. (Note the dog sound asleep after a busy night of dream-haunting!)

I’m sharing some of the illustrations (there are a lot more) without interruption so you can get a sense of the flow.

Thanks to Quarto Publishing for my copy for review. #MyFriendSleep #NetGalley

'My Friend Sleep' by Laura Baker with illustrations by Hannah Peck is a going to bed book that shows sleep as a helpful guide through different worlds.

A young child falls asleep and is joined by Sleep, a friendly guide. Along the way they see things that are good and not so good, but nothing is really scary with friend Sleep along. Sleep helps the child banish the monsters and arrive safely in the morning.

I like this story that acknowledges that dreams can be scary, but they are not real. The idea of a friend along who empowers the child is good, especially because it is the child that has the power. The illustrations seem a bit busy to me for a bedtime book, but I still liked them.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group-words & pictures, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This was an adorable book, perfect for storytimes about sleeping and dreaming. The imagery was magical as was the story.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I didn’t already love this book, it was put way over the 5 star edge when the author describes something as helter skelter. I’m in love. Sleep is not just something you do at night, but a character and a best friend that can take you on amazing adventures. Yes sometimes the adventures can be a little scary, but sleep will be there to hold you hand and bring the monsters down to size. I love the story. I love the little sing song rhyme Sleep sings, and the illustrations are amazing. A five star read for all.

I enjoyed this book and think it is a perfect addition to any young child's library. To be honest, I didn't even recognize that the child in the book was a girl, I just saw her as 'a child'. I loved the illustrations and the colors used lent themselves well to the ideas of dreams and imagination. Beautiful drawings. The text/story is simple and easy for young minds while being the perfect tone for bedtime, preparing to sleep and dispel concerns of bad dreams. I recommend this book and hope for the occasion to purchase and gift it to friends.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great book for kids who are like my daughter and sleep is a bone of contention every night. I read this to her tonight and she started to doze off which she has never done while I read to her. I had to skip over the part about monsters because my daughter then would inevitably ended up in my bed. Good book nonetheless!

What a lovely bed-time book. This book is perfect for that last read, just before bed. For winding down and relaxing.
The illustrations are stunning, they depict the words perfectly and are quite dream-like themselves.

Wonderfully written, it makes going to sleep exciting!