Time for Bed, Miyuki

Time for Bed, Miyuki is a lovely book aimed at younger children (and their caregivers).  I was enchanted from page one.  The story is familiar to everyone who has ever interacted with a young child.  ... "Just one more thing before bed"!  Luckily Miyuki's grandfather is the epitome of patience.

There is a concept called 'iterative contextual repetition' (or similar formulations), which basically says that the human brain learns by hearing and repeating the same things over and over and learning things by gradually building lists is a very effective way to learn.  There are many examples of cumulative songs/poems/stories such as The 12 Days of Christmas, The Rattlin' Bog, The House that Jack Built, and others.  This book uses that format very effectively for the narrative text.

Miyuki's whimsically imaginative before-bedtime to-do list includes a pavilion for the coming visit of the Dragonfly Queen (and her court), taking her snails for a walk, knitting a sweater for her cat, and more.  Each activity is accompanied by full page illustrations which are breathtakingly lovely, crisp, and beautifully rendered. This is a wonderful book for children and adults alike and would make a super read-together for bedtime (or library read-along).

Superlative book. Five stars

Stats:
30 pages, release date 18 September, 2018, available in hardback format.
Author: Roxane Marie Galliez
Illustrator: Seng Soun Ratanavanh
Published by Princeton Architectural Press

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes