Close Your Eyes (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))

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A mother tiger wants her baby to go to sleep, but the little tiger resists. "'If I close my eyes,' he said, 'I can't see the sky.'" She assures him that he will not only see the sky when he sleeps, but will float among clouds and be cradled by the moon. Not in the least assured, the little tiger complains that if he closes his eyes, he will miss seeing the tree and the bird with blue feathers. With each concern, his mother consoles him with a comforting thought. If this gentle give-and-take were not calming enough for a bedtime story, Hallensleben's lovely dreamscapes (And If the Moon Could Talk) will surely do the trick. Double-page paintings of cloud animal shapes (with the little tiger cozying up with the moon), the "big mountains where the rain lives," and of mother tiger licking her baby are utterly hypnotic. Young children who are afraid to go to sleep will learn that "Dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams" and that mom is never very far away. (Ages 3 to 6) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
Banks and Hallensleben further develop the bedtime theme of And If the Moon Could Talk and The Night Worker, this time with the antics of a restless tiger cub. On a sunny midafternoon in a tropical forest, a mother tiger persuades her son to take a nap. "If I close my eyes, I can't see the sky," the mischievous tiger protests, in a portrait framed by the white page. "Yes you can.... You can even float among the clouds," his mother promises, as a fantasy spread pictures fluffy animal-shaped clouds and the little feline reclining in a half-moon; alternating full-bleed images like this one suggest the listener is relaxing into a dream. At last, the cub squeezes his eyes shut. "It's dark," he says. "Dark like your stripes," his mother observes. Banks styles the text as a give-and-take, while Hallensleben sets the jungle scene in impasto layers of sapphire, jade and aquamarine that complement the yellow-orange of the tigers' coats. Roughly hewn paintings depict the patient mother as a bona-fide predator, and her son as a cuddly fellow with bright black eyes, round ears and an upturned smile. Banks and Hallensleben conspicuously borrow the strategy of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's classic The Runaway Bunny, which similarly toggles between reality and reverie, and likewise ends with the mother having the last word. At this book's satisfying close, the son falls asleep as his mother promises to be there when he wakes. Ages 3-6. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Little tiger and his mother sit in the tall grass waiting for night to fall. He is reluctant to go to sleep because then he won't be able to see the sky, the trees, or the birds. His mother promises that if he closes his eyes, he will be able to float among the clouds, play hide-and-seek among the trees, and possibly even fly with the birds. When he fears that his mother will be gone when he wakes up, she assures him that she will be there, and he quietly drifts into the land of dreams. The text flows beautifully from one page to the next and lends itself perfectly to reading aloud. The slightly curved vertical lines of the illustrations create a sense of a moment captured in time. Each lovely spread enhances the lyrical text, showing animal-shaped clouds, little tiger flying with multicolored birds, or the young creature reflecting on what he sees. Richly hued reds, greens, blues, browns, and other colors create a dreamy and soft picture of the world in which the two animals reside. This beautifully written and charmingly illustrated story will be enjoyed over and over again.Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
PreS. Banks and Hallensleben offer another lyrical nighttime tale, framed this time around a sweet, conversation between mother and child that is reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny. Deep in the grasslands, a restless tiger cub resists sleep. "If I close my eyes I can't see the sky," he protests to his mother. The little tiger has more excuses: with closed eyes, he can't see a favorite tree or the blue bird. But his mother reassures him that when he lets his dream imagination soar, he can see these things and more, and that when he awakes, she'll be there. As usual, Banks' language will delight young children with its delicious rhythms, patterned sounds, and the mystery in the poetic imagery: "Dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams." Hallensleben's thick, expressive brush strokes occasionally blur shapes and details, but the vividly colored dreamscapes, filled with wild trees, cloud creatures, and exotic locations, will capture young imaginations and reassure children who, like the young tiger, harbor secret fears of falling asleep. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Little tiger and his mother sit in the tall grass waiting for night to fall . . . The text flows beautifully from one page to the next and lends itself perfectly to reading aloud . . . Each lovely spread enhances the lyrical text . . . This beautifully written and charmingly illustrated story will be enjoyed over and over again." --Starred, School Library Journal


Review
"Little tiger and his mother sit in the tall grass waiting for night to fall . . . The text flows beautifully from one page to the next and lends itself perfectly to reading aloud . . . Each lovely spread enhances the lyrical text . . . This beautifully written and charmingly illustrated story will be enjoyed over and over again." --Starred, School Library Journal


Book Description
A little tiger takes an imaginative journey

The little tiger lay on his back in the tall grass.
"Close your eyes, little tiger," said his mother, "and go to sleep."

But the little tiger is worried about what sleep might bring.
His mother reassures him that once he closes his eyes, he will dream of magical places. And when he awakens, she will be right there, waiting for him.

Alternating between real-life scenes with the baby tiger and his mother and enchanted dream scenes of sleep's possibilities, Kate Banks's simple, comforting text and Georg Hallensleben's bright, colorful illustrations make this a charming bedtime story for small children.

A Junior Library Guild Selection


About the Author
Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben are the author and artist of And If the Moon Could Talk, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, The Night Worker, winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award, and A Gift from the Sea. Ms. Banks lives in Menton, France, and Mr. Hallensleben lives in Paris, France.



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A familiar dance between mother and child begins as the night descends on the jungle and the little tiger refuses to close his eyes and go to sleep. At first the little tiger is worried that he might miss something if he drifts off. "If I close my eyes," he said, "I can't see the sky." He continues to worry that he will not see the tree and "the bird with the blue feathers," but each time his mother comforts him, telling him of all the wonderful things that he will be able to do in his dreams. Satisfied that he will be able to play and maybe even fly in his dream world, the little tiger then becomes worried that he might fall or become lost, but his mother comforts him again. She tells him that she will always be there for him. Finally satisfied, the little tiger closes his eyes and dreams of far away places safe between his mother's paws. Bright, textured illustrations rendered in broad brushstrokes on oversized pages depict the little tiger's lush surroundings and his fanciful dreamscape. While not terribly original, parents searching for another way to convince little ones to go to sleep might give this one a try if for no other reason to share the pictures before bedtime. (Picture book. 3-6)


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