The Baby Who Stayed Awake Forever
by Sandra Salsbury; illus. by the author
Preschool    Doubleday    40 pp.
3/25    9780593805879    $18.99
Library ed.  9780593805886    $21.99
e-book ed.  9780593805893    $8.99

Mama, Papa, and Sister lovingly put Baby to bed at eight o’clock, but “sleeping is for koalas and teenagers. This baby intended to stay awake forever.” At nine o’clock it’s time to throw binkies, at ten o’clock Baby is overly curious about Papa’s face, and so on throughout the night. Climbing, falling, crying, and dancing don’t wear out this tot. “At 3 o’clock…Baby’s eyes…began…to blink,” but after a slight doze, it’s full steam ahead into a new day, if only “her lazy family” would wake up. Throughout, Salsbury channels sleepless, stressed-out parents and the mindset of a baby (“At 2 o’clock, Baby laughed at a joke only she understood. At 2:15, Baby yelled a bit. At 2:30, she laughed at her own yelling”). Humorous illustrations show her well-intentioned family becoming increasingly frazzled when nothing works to calm her seemingly relentless energy. Speech bubble dialogue, motion lines, and baby sounds add to a dynamic layout featuring a mix of spreads, singles, and spots, the last of which really pop against their white backgrounds in stark contrast to the cool hues of the nighttime illustrations. Hand this picture book to all the bleary-eyed parents and older siblings of rambunctious babies who just don’t want to sleep…ever.

From the ">May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.