A blond boy in blue-striped pajamas does his best not to succumb to sleep in Everybody Sleeps (but Not Fred), Josh Schneider's (The Meanest Birthday Girl) comical spin on the classic late-night holdout.
Fred has things to do, and his list of 100 items proves it. While his bulldog, cat and mouse slumber, he stands before the S.S. Insomnia, equipped with props to accomplish his goals. "Ignoring snoring striped hyenas,/ monkeys dream they're ballerinas./ But not Fred," writes Schneider. The pink tutu–clad primates continue to make cameo appearances as species in various settings hit the hay, and Fred stays up late. As Fred spies on a farm, where "chickens doze" and "pigs nod off in stinky rows," a tutu pops above a pig's behind. Schneider sends up clichés such as "counting sheep" by having them "count themselves, and fall asleep" (a tally appears on a clipboard hanging from the barn wall). Other amusing visual touches include a plush chicken staring wide-eyed from the coop and a real chicken sporting a pink eye mask. Youngsters will soon realize that the players in these bedtime-postponing scenes are toys in the boy's room. Finally, a book of poetry sends Fred off to slumber.
But wait--could Schneider be implying (in a metafictional way) that this very book might be what puts Fred out? "[P]lease, for now don't make a peep./ Just close the book and let Fred sleep," says the text, as a monkey, pig and chicken exit stage right. A great way to wind down the day. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness