View source for Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep by Katie Blackburn and Richard Smythe

{{infobox2
|title=Dozy Bear and the Secret of Sleep
|author=Katie Blackburn and Richard Smythe
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Stifle those yawns, your bedtime battles will soon be a thing of the past.  Hopefully!
|rating=4.5
|buy=yes
|borrow=yes
|pages=28
|publisher=Faber & Faber
|date=January 2016
|isbn=9780571330195
|website=https://twitter.com/worldofdozybear
|aznuk=0571330193
|aznus=0571330193
|cover=0571330193 
}}

There's nothing worse than sleep deprivation.  I remember when my daughter was just a few months old and I was getting up with her four or five times a night I would sometimes find myself shopping in Tesco with absolutely no recollection of how I got there (or quite what I was shopping for).  Sadly, this won't help with those squawky newborns, but once your little one gets a bit older this is certainly worth a try, especially if your bedtime routine tends to resemble feeding time at the zoo!

I defy you not to yawn whilst reading this book.  Seriously, I've tried it, and it is completely impossible!  Dozy Bear is settling down for bed, and this story takes us gently through a very clever relaxation method, to help little ones (and their parents!) calm down at bedtime.  With lots of soothing sounds, and soft repetition, this sleepy story will soon lull little ones to sleep.  The actual story itself is about Dozy Bear who wants to go to sleep but doesn't quite know how.  He thinks about all the other animals in turn, how they are snuggled or curled up or cosy in bed, all sleeping, but he is awake.  First his mummy talks to him, starting out with a big yawn, and she talks about waiting for sleep to come, seeing how dark it is everywhere, repeating again about being sleepy.  

Dozy's dad has his own ideas about getting to sleep, and he explains them to Dozy, about how you can wriggle each bit of your body, stretching your hands and your feet, giving them a little shake, and then seeing how heavy they feel, sinking into the bed.  Nana gets her oar in too with a little more sinking into the bed, and lots of repetition of going down, down into the bed, whilst Granpy Bear tells him to listen to hush and just listen to the night.  After a run through of the various sleeping animals again, and the silence of the night, Mama Bear does some deep breathing with Dozy, with lots of breathing in and out, and repetitions of hush, hush.

I ought to admit, I haven't actually read this at bedtime yet.  However, the reason for that is that the first time I read this story to my three year old he was curled up with me on the sofa, and we both yawned so much and became so very floppy that most of the rest of the day was a write-off as we were feeling so sleepy!  It's potent stuff!  I'm currently saving it for the next post-bath screaming match we find ourselves in, and then I will bring out this book and the only danger will be whether I keel over fast asleep on his bedroom floor after reading it!

This is best saved for the required situation, as it really does lull you into a sleepy state of mind with all that repetition.  The illustrations are sweet, and they are suitably restrained in colour and brightness, so they work beautifully with the words and just leave your eyes feeling heavy as you gaze upon all the sleepy animals.  Hold fire on that phone call to Supernanny, and make a quick trip to the shops to get yourself a copy of this book.  It is definitely worth a try!

Further reading suggestion: For more bedtime woes you might like to look at our list of books here [[Top Ten Picture Books For Overcoming Bedtime Woes]].  Richard Smythe also illustrated [[The Messy Book by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Richard Smythe]].

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[[Category:Katie Blackburn]]
[[Category:Richard Smythe]]