I’m Not Sleepy! / ¡No tengo sueño!
by Angela Dominguez; illus. by the author
Preschool    Holt    32 pp.
11/23    9781250874993    $18.99

The dinosaur-and-bird duo from I’m Hungry! / ¡Tengo hambre! (rev. 3/22) and Dominguez’s other cleverly told stories for preschoolers using English and Spanish is wrestling with a classic bedtime conundrum. While Birdie is all tucked in and ready for sleep, dinosaur Lolo insists on not being tired. “Sweet dreams!” says Birdie, in the color-coded, all-dialogue text. But: “No, gracias,” replies Lolo. “No thank you?” repeats Birdie, setting up the natural-sounding pattern of translation and fluency between the two languages. This is also reflected in the tidy, uncluttered, and humorous digital illustrations, which support the main text and layer in some funny details, both visual (Birdie’s sleeping cap; Lolo’s bunny slippers) and textual (Lolo’s to-do list: “Jugar, Comer, Jugar más”). After a series of entertaining back-and-forths, and with the illustrations’ backgrounds slowly getting darker and darker, both friends are finally ready for dreamland, each on their own terms—and resting up for whatever shared adventures might come next.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.