Time Now to Dream

by Timothy Knapman, Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator)

Overview

A mysterious forest sound sets a curious girl and her timid younger brother on an evening adventure with an unexpectedly heartwarming outcome.

Alice and Jack are out playing catch when they hear a strange sound coming from the forest. Jack wants to know what it could be, and Alice decides to go find out. "But what if it's the Wicked Wolf?" Jack asks. "Shhh," says Alice. "Everything is going to be all right." As the two go deeper into the woods and get closer to the odd noise, Jack grows more afraid. But Alice reassures him as she guides him along, and together they make a surprising and sweet discovery. Author Timothy Knapman balances the excitement of adventuring into the unknown with the comfort of returning home safe and sound, while Helen Oxenbury's classically charming illustrations make this a perfect bedtime book to share with little explorers, both the brave ones and those who may need some reassuring that everything is going to be all right.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763690786
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Timothy Knapman is a children’s writer, lyricist, and playwright. He is the author of the picture books Soon, illustrated by Patrick Benson, and Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtimes, illustrated by Nikki Dyson. He lives in Surrey, England.

Helen Oxenbury is a two-time winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the winner of the 2015 Carle Artist Honor. She is a celebrated illustrator of many well-loved books, including Charley’s First Night and When Charley Met Grampa, both by Amy Hest, Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell, and There’s Going to Be a Baby by her husband, John Burningham. Helen Oxenbury lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/16/2017
Playing in their yard on the edge of a forest, Alice and her younger brother, Jack, hear a strange noise wafting from the woods: “Ocka by hay beees unna da reeees.” Jack is certain that it’s the Wicked Wolf, but Alice insists they explore (mindful of her big-sister duties, she holds Jack’s hand and promises him several times that “everything is going to be all right”). Oxenbury’s (Captain Jack and the Pirates) watercolors, rendered in pale yellows and greens, hark back to similar journeys in classic fairy tales. The eerie noises continue—Knapman (Dinosaurs Don’t Have Bedtimes) devises more weird but oddly familiar words—the forest darkens, the Wicked Wolf looms larger in Jack’s imagination, and Alice panics. Finally, their nemesis is revealed, in Jack’s words, as a “mommy” wolf “singing her babies to sleep.” Turning the page, readers see a huge wolf lovingly crooning to her trio of adoring, drowsy pups, framed by soft green leaves. It’s impossible not to linger on this image and savor its poignancy. The delicious escalation of suspense is replaced with a quiet sense of wonder, making this story a winner. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Just the right combination of fairy tale and bedtime book, scary and soothing...Oxenbury's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations underscore the text's timeless feel and add whimsy with just the right touch of eeriness. Her ever-so-slightly anthropomorphized wolves and sun-dappled forest are as inviting as anything she's done. Time now to savor this lovely offering.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Turning the page, readers see a huge wolf lovingly crooning to her trio of adoring, drowsy pups, framed by soft green leaves. It’s impossible not to linger on this image and savor its poignancy. The delicious escalation of suspense is replaced with a quiet sense of wonder, making this story a winner.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Helen Oxenbury’s beautiful pencil-and-watercolor illustrations follow two children braving a dark forest to find the source of an enigmatic song in ‘Time Now to Dream’, a picture book by Timothy Knapman…For children ages 3-7 this is that loveliest sort of bedtime adventure, one that alternates between vicarious fear and loving reassurance and that builds to a surprising revelation.
—The Wall Street Journal

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.” This gentle, quiet read is an excellent addition to most picture book collections.
—School Library Journal

This flight of fancy, which ends with the children in bed, is wound with both adventure and safety as well as heaps of sweetness.
—Booklist

Author and illustrator gently turn folktale conventions on their heads for this don’t-be-afraid bedtime story...the eventual appearance of the wolf—and her pups!—is sweet indeed.
—The Horn Book

The charming illustrations will help to reassure little ones that even when they are scared, everything will be alright. A perfect blend of classic bedtime story, adventure, and sweet prose, this story will surely help any reluctant child drift off to sleep.
—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

01/01/2017
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." VERDICT This gentle, quiet read is an excellent addition to most picture book collections.—Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

★ 2016-12-06
Just the right combination of fairy tale and bedtime book, scary and soothing. While playing outside, Alice and Jack hear something in the woods, and despite Jack's hesitation, the two children (who seem to be siblings) go to investigate. Both children are white with blond hair and ruddy complexions. Older Alice is brave and curious, guiding her little brother deeper into the forest as they continue to hear bits of strange verse like: "Offtis or eeef edd/un gentil daa breez." Timid Jack wonders, "But what if it's the Wicked Wolf…with his big bad claws?" Alice repeatedly assures him that "everything is going to be all right," but she is the one who falters when they do see a wolf in the forest. Before they run away, Jack looks closer and sees that it's a mother wolf singing to her babies, and now they can make out the lullaby she croons and that led them into the woods. The children return home with the mother wolf's song in their ears, and they heed its advice that it's "time now to dream." Oxenbury's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations underscore the text's timeless feel and add whimsy with just the right touch of eeriness. Her ever-so-slightly anthropomorphized wolves and sun-dappled forest are as inviting as anything she's done. Time now to savor this lovely offering. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews