The Sleepiest Sleep

4.0

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Author(s)

Barry Timms

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Publisher

Nosy Crow

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

August 19, 2025

ISBN

979-8887771496

A dreamy bedtime story with a tender grandparent-grandchild relationship at its heart.

Night is falling and Grandma and Grandpa Tiger want their little grandcub to have the sleepiest sleep of all. But when an unexpected thunderstorm comes, it doesn't seem as though anyone will be able to nod off! Luckily the other animals in the jungle have a plan. . . .

With mesmerizing, magical illustrations and a repeated lullaby refrain, this lyrical rhyming bedtime adventure is just right for lulling anxious grandchildren (and grandparents!) to sleep.

Editor review

1 review

Just try to keep your eyes open!

November 09, 2025 (Updated: July 15, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Patterpaw, a young tiger cub, is having a sleepover with his grandtigers! Grandpa is very worried when Patterpaw starts to yawn that the ground will be too lumpy for his little sweetheart, but Grandma smiles and has the birds put together a soft bed. Grandpa is also afraid that Patterpaw will be afraid of the dark, but Grandma summons fireflies. An even bigger worry emerges when a storm blows up, but all of the animals in the jungle sing a song to lull Patterpaw back to sleep. The storm passes, and all of the animals snuggle down to "the sleepiest sleep", just like the listener is encouraged to do.

Good Points

Told in rhyming verse, this is a good story to allay fears when young children are sleeping in new places, hopefully one that are more prepared for their arrival. It's nicely rhythmic and repetitive, with comforting phrases like "croakiest croaks" and "squeakiest squeaks". This alone would go a long way toward negating questions about more drinks of water or blankets.

Kukhtina's illustrations also encourage slumber, with their dark blue color palette and soothing yellow fireflies. The tigers are a great contrasting shade of orange. The text is sometimes a light purple or blue on darker shades, which might require some grandparents to turn up the lights a bit, but this book will probably be reread enough that it is memorized, so that shouldn't be a problem for long.

It's good to scaffold new experiences by reading about them, so this would be a great gift for a new grandparent, perhaps along with a soft blanket. After several readings, little grand tigers should be ready to spend the night, especially since human grandparents are going to be more prepared with actual beds and a roof overhead in case of storms. This is a perfect choice for fans of Cummins and Oswald's Sleepy Sheep and the Sheepover or Ferneyhough's Nana, Nenek & Nina.