Dad! I Can't Sleep!

by Michael Foreman

Little Panda tries county sheep but he still cannot fall asleep, and Dad suggests counting cows, then pigs, then tigers, then . . . pterodactyls, leading up to a surprise for Dad. By the award-winning author-illustrator of Jack's Fantastic Voyage.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Library Binding

First published September 22, 1994

About the author

Michael has worked on magazines, book jackets, animated films, TV adverts, and even for the police, sketching criminals described by witnesses. As well as illustrating many of his own books, Michael has illustrated over a hundred books for authors such as Shakespeare, J. M. Barrie, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. Michael has travelled widely - to Africa, Japan, the Arctic Circle, China and Malaysia, the Himalayas, Siberia and New Zealand - to research his books. "I do a lot of research when I'm travelling - I find it thrilling to discover the particular 'art' of different landscapes and work them into a book. But I find I have to travel by myself, otherwise I'm constantly getting involved in other people's impressions of a place... I try to be invisible when I'm travelling, so I tend to listen in on conversations rather than participate in them - I just want to look and draw."

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one of the cutest children's books I've read. It lightheartedly captures a parent's frustration with a child who won't go to sleep. And, it perfectly identifies with the child who just can't put out of his mind all the excitement of the day. Such a cute and surprising ending.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dad gets mad at little Panda who keeps saying he can't sleep.
My favourite part was when dad got mad, yelled, threw the laundry at the cat and stomped upstairs...

Only part missing was the beat down.

[Becky Craven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny twist.

[Rama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Panda keeps calling out to Dad as he is bored and unable to sleep. Dad suggests counting sheep, but he is soon bored of that too. On Dad’s suggestion, he counts varied animals –cows, pigs, elephants, rhinos and hippos – he counts all the way to hundreds and thousands to zillions, but he still cant sleep! When a harried dad answers Little Panda’s call one last time and goes up to his room, Dad is in for a ….. surprise?

It’s an adorable bed-time story. Every parent and child can identify with the story. The big surprise in the last pull out page is delightful and something that you can’t really see coming. Children will surely like it. I also liked the inclusion of Dad in everyday chores which the author has thoughtfully put in. He tries to drive home the point to little ones that mommy might not show it, but she is famished at the end of the day and looks forward to put up her feet. There is a touch of adventure in the mention of a number of animals, including different types of dinosaurs (diplodocus, stegosaurus, pterodactyl) which is exciting to children. The idea of the little panda counting upto zillions, in his attempt to fall asleep, is humorous.

Though the author is well known for his illustrations, we were not very impressed with the ones in this book. Too many animals and too many numbers can be a little confusing to very little children. But the big pull-out page at the end, with very interesting contents in it make this book enjoyable. We recommend especially for the 4-6 category.

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