Time Now To Dream

PreS-K—Alice and her younger brother, Jack, follow the strains of an odd melody into the woods near their home, overcoming their fears and discovering ordinary magic in the process. While playing catch, they overhear an eerie tune that seems garbled by the breeze and distance. Knapman's text adheres to a pattern, which makes this ideal for sharing aloud. Jack inquires about the noise they hear, concerned it is the "Wicked Wolf," and Alice calms him, stating, "Shhh, Everything is going to be all right." They move further into the dark woods, with Jack repeating his questions and adding more to his Wicked Wolf each time until the beast has "big bad claws" and "snap-trap jaws." Alice encourages them both to be brave until they are right upon the source of the strange sounds. Panicked, she turns to flee, but Jack stands fast, for he sees their terrors are for naught. The Wicked Wolf is really a she-wolf "singing her babies to sleep." A spread reveals the beautiful wolf and her three cubs in the forefront while the two children peer in wonder from the trees behind her. Oxenbury's pencil and watercolor illustrations are soft and lovely, depicting nature in its uncomplicated joy. Now, as fear is blown away, the lullaby's words are clear to the children, and it's Jack's turn to tell Alice that "everything is all right."