by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
illustrated by Katharine Dodge
Wordsong, Boyds Mills Press, 1996
ISBN 978-1-56397-180-8 (hardcover)

As the moon unwinds its silver thread
And sleepy children climb in bed,
Sweet dreams are stirring in the air
As wild ones sleep—
do you know where?

So begins this sweetly mysterious collection of poems by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. The poems unwind in the form of an imagined conversation between a child on the verge of sleep and a variety of creatures, ranging from the familiar squirrel and mouse to a far-away mountain goat and sea otter. Katharine Dodge's remarkable wildlife illustrations grace these pages with both charm and accuracy. Young children will delight in this cozy and comforting bedtime collection, imagining, from within the safe circle of a parent's arms, that they themselves are like little bear, "bundling furry—deep down for a long winter's nap."