Wednesday, 10 November 2021

BOOK REVIEW: Before You Sleep


TITLE: Before You Sleep
AUTHOR: Benji Bennett
PUBLISHED BY: Adam's Cloud

Through inspired rhyme and charming illustrations this storybook delivers a powerful emotional experience for parents to share with their children.

Each page starts with the words ’I love you much more than’ which is a lovely phrase for little people to learn and practise and the scene that follows is an indulgent journey into a toddlers' imagination; there are pirates, princesses, trucks, aeroplanes, fairgrounds and Father Christmas. It’s an ideal bedtime read and incorporates the loving message for youngsters to hold in their heads as they drift off to sleep. It is a really feel-good book with a story of love to send any child to sleep with the sweetest of dreams.

The clever rhyming story will help capture youngsters' attention along with the brightly coloured pages and keep little people captivated. The illustrations are bright and contemporary - plus they are superbly detailed and there is a lot to take in on each page; I’m sure little ones will be charmed by them and want the story read to them over and over again.

The book depicts a family sharing different fun adventures throughout the year and each time the parents iterate how they love their child much more than that particular activity, for instance, more than rollercoasters, more than Christmas, etc. It is a very heartwarming book filled with warmth, love and adventure and emphasises the importance of love, laughter and play within the family.

Reading the story to their children offers parents a unique opportunity to enter the fascinating world of a child and express their love for them through the series of magical adventures, powerful verse and imaginative illustrations contained within.

This book delivers a powerful emotional experience for parents to share with their children thus creating an important bond with children from an early age. It is perfect as a beautiful gift for a new-born at a christening or baptism and it is also ideal as a children's birthday, Easter or Christmas present.

A very sad story is behind how this book came into being; on his 37th birthday author Bennett lost his four year old son Adam as he passed away from an undiagnosed brain tumour. Consequently, Bennett wrote the story to help encourage parents to enjoy more quality time with their children; he penned the book to be the perfect bedtime read to demonstrate to children that they are loved and that they are special.

Beautiful, colourful illustrations by Roxanne Burchartz feature throughout, and a dedication to Adam on the inside cover of this book precedes the story.

It is a beautiful tribute and a splendid book which will really make parents reading it think and be grateful for, and treasure their children; wonderfully written with a magical story and a beautiful message.

The book won the Irish Book Award and there are eight more books by author Bennett, all inspired by or featuring his son which can be found at https://www.adamscloud.com

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard


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