All the Animals Were Sleeping
By Author / Illustrator
Clare Helen Welsh, illus Jenny Lovlie
Genre
Animals
Age range(s)
3+
Publisher
Nosy Crow Ltd
ISBN
9781839940262
Format
Paperback / softback
Published
04-08-2022
Synopsis
A beautiful picture book about the ways in which animals sleep in the Serengeti, written by award-winning author Clare Helen Welsh and illustrated by the winner of the 2019 Waterstones Children's Book Prize, Jenny Lovlie.
On the dry, grassy plains of the Serengeti, a little mongoose makes his way home to his burrow. On his way, the mongoose passes giraffes, zebras, monkeys, elephants, storks, lizards, butterflies and cheetahs, all sleeping in their own unique ways.
A stunning, lyrical and reassuring bedtime story, perfect for young animal lovers, with non-fiction facts at the end. Every Nosy Crow paperback picture book comes with a free 'Stories Aloud' audio recording - just scan the QR code and listen along!
Reviews
Amanda
This delightfully illustrated story follows a little mongoose as he makes his way home, to his burrow, across the Serengeti. On his way he passes giraffes, zebras, monkeys, elephants , storks, lizards, butterflies and cheetahs, all sleeping in their own unique ways.
The writers of the story have carefully considered the languages used to aid the development of vocabulary which is a focus in so many schools across the country. The information at the back of the book gives additional facts and context to the story enabling pupils or teachers to discuss the Serengeti and think about different habitats. Each page in this story could be used as a discussion starter looking at the way that the animal is sleeping, who they are with and what they would have done. It would be interesting to discuss the different environments that he travelled through and how little mongoose would have felt.
This beautiful story is a must for KS1 book boxes, I would include it in book boxes linked to science topics of animals and habitats and in the general library. This is likely to become a well loved bedtime story in many homes too. Thank you Clare and Jenny for creating this wonderful introduction to this fabulous range of creatures and this beautiful environment.
Picture book / Reviewed by Amanda Shipton, teacher
Suggested Reading Age 3+
Samantha
All the Animals Were Sleeping is a stunning picture book about the ways in which animals sleep in the Serengeti. This is such a beautiful and peaceful picture to book to share. The illustrations really capture the night time life for the animals in the Serengeti.
The author takes us on a journey with the little mongoose as he makes his way home to his burrow. As he returns to his home, he comes across lots of animals, all sleeping in their unique ways. The mongoose passes giraffes, zebras, monkeys, elephants, storks, lizards, butterflies and cheetahs.
The language throughout the story is rich and lyrical and the descriptions and beautiful illustrations generate endless discussions with the children. Fortunately at the end of the book there are non-fiction facts about each of the animals which helped to answer all of the questions that the children asked about the animals. The children in Year One enjoyed recalling their prior knowledge of Africa and we will be adding this to our Summer Term reading list for Reception as a supporting text for their topic - 'The Places We Go'.
Picture book / Reviewed by Samantha Hughes, teacher
Suggested Reading Age 5+