Imaginations take flight on a magical journey with a young girl as she travels through a dreamscape of woodland creatures and gentle rocking oceans brimming with sea animals.
Where do you go to in your dreams? By the light of a wonderful golden full moon and a vast expanse of dark sky, a little girl is whisked away and travels far and wide on a flying bed, with her favourite soft toy transformed into a faithful travel companion.
Written in lilting poetic rhyme, her adventures take her through darkly mysterious land, evoked in shades of moody blue accented with a burst of brilliant yellow moon. Beckentrup’s breathtaking illustrations are created with collage-like artwork that brings texture and depth, while the masterful mix of muted colours adds depth and rich tonality.
There are shades of Where the Wild Things Are in the coterie of playful creatures embarking on a moonlight voyage mingled with the magical other-worldliness of Le Petit Prince. A sublime mood of serenity and elegant dreaminess reigns over proceedings
Although there are some elements of slight menace – the darkness, the wind and the rain – the little girl is not afraid, with her trusty lion by her side: “Before I wake up, we might face some storms. But I won’t be afraid. I’m safe in your arms.” And indeed, the lion, providing exquisite silhouettes with his magnificent fuzzy-haired mane, serves as a watchful protector throughout.
As beftits a bedtime story, the pace is gentle, with minimal text and several double pages where there are no words at all, where images are repeated and overlaid giving an animated sense of movement and time lapsing. As dawn approaches, the dark world gives way to a bright new day.
After a magical night of adventure, the darkness gives way to the golden dawn of a new day, and our little heroine finds herself tucked up in bed, cuddling her toy lion – refreshed and invigorated and ready for the new day’s adventure to begin.
This gorgeous bedtime story is the perfect wind-down at the end of the day that will send children off into a blissful sleep, wondering what magic their own sweet dreams might bring.
Fun fact The record for the longest period of sleep deprivation is 18 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes. New parents lose between 400–750 hours of sleep in the first 12 months of having a baby.
Did you know? You might associate sleeping with peace and quiet, but actually our brains are more active during sleep than during the day.
Author notes Britta Teckentrup is an award-winning illustrator, author and fine artist. She was born in Hamburg, growing up in a town called Wuppertal. She moved to London in 1988 to study illustration and fine art at St Martin’s College and the Royal College of Art. Britta is the author and illustrator of many well-loved books for children, including the bestselling The Memory Tree, The Odd One Out and Grumpy Cat, which was selected by the Book Trust’s Bookstart Scheme with 250,000 copies to be distributed to families throughout the UK. Britta has written and illustrated over 80 children’s picture books which have been published in over 20 different countries. Her fine art work has been frequently exhibited at her London gallery and at art fairs all over the world. After 17 years in the UK, Britta now lives and works in Berlin with her Scottish husband, son Vincent and their old cat, Oskar.
