Starry Blankets: Poems for Bedtime

PreS-Gr 1–Nineteen poems thoughtfully allude to night, bedtime, or the magical world of dreams. This collection uplifts Merriam’s gift for writing poetry for children with each poem celebrating the pleasures of language while being infused with a child’s point of view. With soothing repetition and alliteration that rolls off the tongue, the poems double as lullabies. Short poems like “The Magic of Moonlight” embody wonder and playfulness that encourages repeating by heart (“Knobby green pickle,/ wrinkled purple prune,/ what can you see/ by the light of the moon?”), while the quatrains in “Nice and Tight” use alternating pronouns like “you” and “I” to create opportunities for a shared reading experience (“You be Good,/ I’ll be Night,/ tuck me in, tuck me in,/ nice and tight.”) Kim’s illustrations accompany the poems with the soft and fuzzy comfort of a favorite stuffy. Using a palette that reflects evening light and filled with sleepy animals, children snuggled under their covers, and even an occasional sea creature flying through the landscape of a dream, the illustrations encourage rest and slowing down.