Sea Snooze

by Sarabeth Holden, Emma Pedersen (Illustrator)

"All aboard our little boat! We'll sail all night. Let's see where we float!" Full speed ahead as two siblings sail off for dreamland! Before these two can settle down under the covers, they cruise off onto the Arctic Ocean to bid goodnight to narwhals and guillemots, mikes and belugas. They sail past clouds shaped like polar bears and marvel at the multitudes of stars that twinkle between them. Before dawn pulls them back to their own cozy bedroom, they snack with the seals on the bow of their ship, waving goodbye as from dreamland to daytime they go.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[pineapple tofu]

How does one mother soothe her two children to sleep? By creating a bedtime story of mythical beings and sailing across the vast seas. The siblings, within their dreams, venture upon large whales and hyper seals as they see many delights in the ocean below. As the brother commands the ship's helm, the sister watches with wonder at the passing animals as they dance and fly to the children’s amusement. Darken nights smooth away to lightened skies as the mother finishes the story for her two kids, letting them sleep the night away.
Come into the dreamworld and venture into many sights and scenes as two siblings sail across the oceans, seeing creatures big and small all around. From the high and flying birds to the cloud-like polar bears eating fish pies, these two are in awe of everything surrounding them. With mostly darker colors of the waves and night skies, this picture book draws upon the imagination of one mother who tells a bedtime story for her two sleepy kids.

[M M]

Beautiful illustrations, so well written.

[Entrada Book Review]

"Sea Snooze" is a magical bedtime journey that captures the wonder of Arctic nights through the eyes of two young adventurers. Sarabeth Holden crafts a soothing narrative that blends reality with dreams, taking young readers on a gentle voyage through the Arctic's mysterious waters. The rhythmic text flows as smoothly as ocean waves, making it a perfect wind-down story for bedtime.

Emma Pedersen's illustrations are absolutely enchanting. Her color palette masterfully captures the unique luminescence of Arctic twilight, with deep blues and purples washing into soft pinks and golds. The way she depicts the Arctic wildlife is both scientifically accurate and wonderfully whimsical - the narwhals and belugas have a playful charm that will delight young readers while staying true to their natural forms. Her attention to detail in the starlit scenes is particularly impressive, creating dreamy seascapes that seem to glow right off the page.

[Barbara]

As their mother reads a bedtime story, two youngsters get ready for bed. But before they can settle down, they set off on a wild adventure across the Arctic Ocean in a small vessel. There are so many different animals to see up close, including gulls, seals and whales, and by the time their journey comes to an end, they're really ready for a long snooze. The rhyming lines, imaginative artwork that depicts all sorts of animals as part of the clouds and the sea, and those expressive eyes and faces lend child appeal to this reassuring bedtime story. The final double-page spread showing the siblings asleep in their bedroom offers clues as to why they imagined certain animals as being part of their journey with their caregiver never too far away. The childlike perspective on the Arctic is perfect for its intended audience.

[Rebecca Pack]

I absolutely love this book, starting with the matte finish of the cover, with glossy accents, and pops of color, and the beginning and end pages that look like a child's favorite quilt. I love that many of the bedroom decorations and stuffed animals go on to appear in the children's imagination of the story being read too them. There are also a couple of Inuktitut words in the story, along with a pronunciation guide of the two words at the end of the book, which was a very nice touch. My son and I always love learning new words from other languages and cultures in the stories we read together. I can't wait to share this cute story with my grandsons and niece!
Thank you Library Thing and InhabitMedia for the copy of this book.

[Theediscerning]

Siblings have a riotous adventure with animals galore as their imagination turns their bed into first a sailing boat then a flying vessel guided by a giant toy narwhal, in this variant on the last-book-before-bed. I think I would find the energy of the pages, and the child-friendly designs of the animals and how everything relates to their plushies and so on too much to send me off – instead it looks rather invigorating. But it is a book designed to inspire culturally-specific dreams in a specific young culture of reader, the Inuit more or less, and I cannot really see it failing.

[Rebecca]

Cute little story using imagination! Get ready to set sail on a sea of bliss, with animals of all size, and a restful night included!

What a cute little story. I love how all the pieces were woven together, creating a restful read before bed. Perfect for younger, just learning to read youth, for a fun story before bedtime.

[Lynne Marie]

Nice bedtime book. Lovely art!

[Leona]

Two siblings sail off to dreamland to the Arctic Ocean to bid goodnight to the animals such as whales and polar bears. Such a cute book to be read to children at bedtime or anytime. The illustrations by Emma Pedersen are wonderful and a great way to teach a child about different sea animals. One illustration and words I especially liked was (because I like look at cloud shapes)
"The clouds gently float by
making shapes like polar bears
eating fish pies".
A great gift for a child for a birthday or a holiday.
I received a complimentary copy from the author and LibraryThing.
The opinions are my own.
A 5 star rating.