Time for Bed, Miyuki by Roxane Marie Galliez, illustrated by Seng Soun Ratanavanh

Time for Bed, Miyuki 
by Roxane Marie Galliez
illustrated by Seng Soun Ratanavanh
Review Copy from 
Stunning. Magical. Elegantly beautiful. I can't think of enough adjectives to describe the joy that fills me as I pore over Ratanavanh's illustrations for Time for Bed, Miyuki. Of course, these images may not have made it to the page without a Galliez's curious story that reads like a fairy tale. Time for Bed, Miyuki begins, 

With a rain of gold on silver hills, the sun offers its last light before leaving for the night. The nightingale prepares her nest. Ants gather their provisions. And the toad jumps into a bucket. As the sun slowly hides to watch the moon rise, the bell tower sounds the hour of rest. 
But where is Miyukui? She is, "busy playing and trying to push back time." But her grandfather is trying to get her to bed. Each time he tries to corral her, she has one more thing she needs to do. And none of it can wait for the next day because that is when the Dragonfly Queen will arrive. And the vegetables must be watered. And the Snail family gathered together. And the cat covered. And then the last dance must be danced.
Grandfather humors Miyuki, gently guiding her toward bed and the necessary rituals that precede it. Happily, Grandfather remembers the most important part of going to bed. He opens a book and begins to read, 

With a rain of gold on silver hills, the sun offers its last light before leaving for the night. The nightingale prepares her nest. Ants gather their provisions. And the toad jumps into a bucket. As the sun slowly hides to watch the moon rise, the bell tower sounds the hour of rest. 


Also illustrated by Seng Soun Ratanavanh:
My Island

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