Caregivers will enjoy making this a bedtime read, and librarians will turn to this often for pajama storytimes. Young readers who love rebelling against bedtime rules will delight in seeing Sheepy’s evening escapades, and astute members of this crowd will notice his happy smile when he’s finally curled up in bed. An entertaining tale sure to resonate with those on either side of the bedtime battle.

Children will begrudgingly drift to a dream land created by Cummins and Oswald. The title character, though appearing increasingly tired as the story goes on, is dead set against bedtime. . . Rhyming and child-friendly vocabulary fill the tale with sleepy hour vibes. Oswald’s transitions between bright and muted color palettes create a definite difference between the need to go to bed and Sheepy’s denials. VERDICT This could easily end up a story hour favorite and an often checked-out new bedtime classic for not-so-tired kids and their very tired parents; this will especially work a spell on preschoolers.