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Dear Grown-up,
You know when it's the middle of the night;
gradually a little voice works its way into
this lovely dream you're having. You struggle
to open one bleary eye and realize the
door's open, the landing light's on and
a small person's patting your pillow with
the news that they can't get back to sleep.
Well, what you need then is a quick way to
get you both back to the land of Nod.
How about this? A story. A story that is guaranteed to do the trick. One you could
still tell without a)having to put the light
on and b)having to think.
So here's a tried and tested model; a simple formula that can be changed enough each time
to make it appropriate and new. Most
importantly, you should be able to tell it
while you're still half asleep.
This book is written by a father and a special needs teacher. It represents a revolution in getting sleepless children back to sleep. It suggests a story formula to be adapted as you see fit. The book is a spring-board. You won't actually need it in the middle of the night because it will be dark! Having said that, it is a great bed-time read with a story and illustrations to draw in every young-hearted person.
Many stories could be written about the Sleepy Fairy. This particular one takes the dream of becoming a rock star and builds in a powerful anti-racist message
About the author
Rowland Howarth is a father of two. (His daughter, Annabel's sleep problems inspired the book.) He works part-time teaching children with special needs. He lives and works in South London in the UK. When he is not teaching he is drawing and writing, playing in a band or riding his recumbent bike.
