The World Champion of Staying Awake

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Stella really wants to go to bed and have some rest, but her three rowdy bedtime companions - Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt the puppet mouse and Beanbag Frog - are having none of it. They are full of energy, jumping all around the place each claiming to be the World Champion of Staying Awake.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

This isn't the first book to subvert conventions by giving a child the responsibility of ushering others to bed, but it's easily one of the more lovingly executed and designed. Stella, a preschooler in a tank top and yellow slippers, is tasked with getting her three rambunctious playmates to bed. But Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt (a superhero mouse), and Beanbag Frog have other ideas, and their spot-on protestations will be instantly recognizable to both kids and beleaguered parents. "Sleep is too slow!" shouts Beanbag Frog, later complaining, "I've shut my eyes, but my feet are completely woken up." By using objects from around her bedroom to create imagination-fueled journeys by ship, train, and hot-air balloon, Stella accomplishes her mission with patience and style. In contrast to the spot illustrations of the main story, which are set against white backgrounds, the characters' imagined expeditions are rich, full-bleed watercolor scenes, accompanied by rhymed couplets that balance the rowdiness of the bedtime preparations with cozy imagery and soothing rhythms. It's just the thing for testing the mettle of those who would lay claim to the titular honorific. Ages 3-up. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

PreS-K-It's bedtime for Stella, but her friends-Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt the puppet mouse, and Beanbag Frog-aren't tired. In fact, they're bouncing all over the child's room. "Sleep is too slow!" croaks Beanbag Frog. "I'm the world champion of staying awake!" says Cherry Pig. How will she get them to settle down? Clever Stella uses her vivid imagination to create each toy a world in which it is lulled to sleep by movement, sound, and lyrics, perfect for dreaming. Readers will adore Stella as she gently encourages her not-so-sleepy friends to dreamland. Cherry Pig takes a trip on the high seas through the magic of a pillow and beautiful lyrics that gently coax her to sleep. Thunderbolt and Beanbag Frog also take their own special journey to dreamland using Stella's vivid imagination and reassuring verse. Finally, "They're all fast asleep," Stella says and she tucks herself into bed. Parents will relate to the difficulty of getting a child to sleep who is still full of energy, while youngsters may find themselves lulled to sleep alongside the animals. Liao's sweet watercolor illustrations of Stella and her friends as well as the imaginative worlds they create are just lovely. A first purchase.-C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

After her father tells her it's bedtime, Stella has trouble getting three of her stuffed animals to sleep: they're competing to be "the world champion of staying awake." The story's role-reversal element is a bit of parental wish-fulfillment--Stella herself drifts right off--but it's nevertheless entertaining. Versatile illustrator Liao's watercolors succeed at depicting both tight vignettes and expansive fantastical scenes. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Dad announces that it's time for bed, and she sets to work getting her three favorite toys to sleep. Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt (a plush mouse) and Beanbag Frog all declare they're wide awake. Gathering them, Stella lays them gently on her pillow and lifts them into the air, "dream[ing] the pillow into something." They dream an ocean, the pillow a ship rocking on the waves. Cherry Pig imagines herself snuggling on a haystack in the loft; she's asleep. Thunderbolt and Beanbag Frog, however, remain awake and full of energy. Stella puts them in a box and, pushing it across the floor, says it's a train. Mouse and frog are transported to the midnight run; Thunderbolt imagines them riding magic horses through the air; he's asleep too. "Starship balloon" proves the way to make Beanbag Frog sleepy. She carries them allto bed and follows their lead. Taylor makes each of the toys' dreams a poem, which nicely counterpoints the simple main story, though some of the images both in the verse and pictures seem arbitrary. Liao's watercolors are bright, and all the characters lookadorable. The ample white space in book's design invites readers in and transitions the characters from reality into their imaginations.Pleasant if unexceptional.(Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.