S is for ...

The Sleepy Book.....by Charlotte Zolotow who is still answering letters children write to her at 98!

While this is not my favorite book that she has written, it has been a test of time. Written in 1958, and printed 2 more times since with updated pictures, it is still a classic read for children.

Charlotte says she can't quite remember how she came to write Sleepy Book. "Someone, I think Jean George, mentioned to me that horses sleep standing up.  I never thought about it as a book but later someone, maybe Crescent, mentioned fish sleeping with eyes open, and it began to form for me. " (Left, Vitale's brilliant tropical fish snooze among the seaweed, eyes wide open, while Ilsa Plume's golden koi, right, doze beneath water lilies) "But maybe it had its origins even earlier. Maybe it was thinking about both Crescent, then Ellen, and Steve, my daughter and son, staring up at me wide awake when I hoped they were about to go to sleep, that may have given me the idea. Also, I remember Jupie (Jupiter, the family Weimaraner in the early '50's) wanting to sleep near Crescent/Ellen's crib, and Cleo (the family poodle in the 60's) wanting to sleep near Steve...

"But maybe the idea just popped into my head one day....who knows?"

Who knows indeed? But as Charlotte has said many times, her books are double or triple exposures: it could have been all these things laid over each other.

So if you look for her books at the library, please look for, "Do You Know What I'll Do?"  It will make your heart sing.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER* GO READ A BOOK*