Mini Review: Stop That Yawn! by Caron Levis, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

It's bedtime and Gabby Wild's Granny has come to tuck her in, but tonight Gabby wants something else. She wants to stay up all night long. And so, they pack their toothbrushes and off they go to Never Sleeping City where no one ever sleeps, where beds are only for jumping on, and it's never too late at night for ice cream.

But at the top of the ferris wheel at the Never Sleeping City Carnival, it's cozy, quiet and peaceful, and soon Granny's mouth opens wide and, you guessed it, a great big yawn escapes. Gabby instantly realizes that if she is to avoid going to sleep, she will have to stop her Granny's yawn from spreading throughout Never Sleeping City.

Well, we all know how contagious a yawn is, so Gabby rushes from place to place, person to person, trying to stop Granny's yawn before it puts everyone to sleep. Can she do it?

Stop That Yawn! is an bedtime story turned on its head. The text is pretty simple with the repeating phrase "Grit your teeth, seal your lips, we have to stop that - YAWN." No doubt your young readers, like mine, will pick that up and repeat it in just the right places. The illustrations are fun and very different from the text, making Never Sleeping City and its inhabitants somewhat frenetic, which I suspect reflects how the world can feel to a child fighting sleep sometimes.

My young readers loved reading this book and exploring the illustrations - over and over again. And it sparked lots of talk about how they try to stay awake as long as possible. And yet, the story also elicited more than a few young yawns.

On a personal note: the first time I read this book, I laughed out loud remembering all the nights my Kiddo begged to stay up late. Finally, one New Year's Eve, I told her she could stay up to see the new year in. She was pretty excited, until that first yawn. And no, she didn't make it to midnight that year.

If you are looking for a different kind of bedtime story, if you kids are starting to want to stay up later and later, or if you and your young readers just want a good laugh, Stop That Yawn! is a book you will all surely enjoy.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Atheneum BFYR