While You Sleep

While You Sleep was the most beautiful picture book I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing this year. Miki Sato’s illustrations pull you in and along as three little bunnies take readers through their nightly care routine. The cut paper and mixed media collages evoke a snoozy watercolored world where these stuffed rabbits mend clouds, charge rainbows and weave night. A quick perusal of Sato’s online presence will show any interested reader the real-life scale of these cut paper illustrations. They are breathtakingly tiny!

The premise of this sweet book is simply that, as a child sleeps, her three stuffed rabbits magically take care of the world. It is a fanciful little story that children will likely find peaceful and interesting in equal measure. The interior life of stuffed animals is one that many young readers take quite seriously. Thus, Maruno’s story feels respectful to the young child’s developing imagination.

There are ample cases where rhyming text does serve to deepen creative writing. For me, that was not the case here. Simply put, I wish it did not rhyme. While the rhyming text is largely well done, leaving behind the requirements of end-rhyme might have opened up some interesting possibilities for what our three little rabbits do at night.