ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Banks and Hallensleben offer another lyrical nighttime tale, framed this time around a sweet, conversation between mother and child that is reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny. Deep in the grasslands, a restless tiger cub resists sleep. If I close my eyes I can't see the sky, he protests to his mother. The little tiger has more excuses: with closed eyes, he can't see a favorite tree or the blue bird. But his mother reassures him that when he lets his dream imagination soar, he can see these things and more, and that when he awakes, she'll be there. As usual, Banks' language will delight young children with its delicious rhythms, patterned sounds, and the mystery in the poetic imagery: Dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams. Hallensleben's thick, expressive brush strokes occasionally blur shapes and details, but the vividly colored dreamscapes, filled with wild trees, cloud creatures, and exotic locations, will capture young imaginations and reassure children who, like the young tiger, harbor secret fears of falling asleep.

Horn Book (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

A mother tiger settles her restless cub, who doesn't want to close his eyes, with quieting promises of fanciful dreams and assurances that she will be there when he wakes. The rich paintings depict a lush, inviting jungle setting, and the softly rounded animal forms are more friendly than realistic in both dream (a plaid whale) and waking (a smiling croc) worlds, a style suited to the soothing bedtime story.

Kirkus Reviews (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

A familiar dance between mother and child begins as the night descends on the jungle and the little tiger refuses to close his eyes and go to sleep. At first the little tiger is worried that he might miss something if he drifts off. "If I close my eyes," he said, "I can't see the sky." He continues to worry that he will not see the tree and "the bird with the blue feathers," but each time his mother comforts him, telling him of all the wonderful things that he will be able to do in his dreams. Satisfied that he will be able to play and maybe even fly in his dream world, the little tiger then becomes worried that he might fall or become lost, but his mother comforts him again. She tells him that she will always be there for him. Finally satisfied, the little tiger closes his eyes and dreams of far away places safe between his mother's paws. Bright, textured illustrations rendered in broad brushstrokes on oversized pages depict the little tiger's lush surroundings and his fanciful dreamscape. While not terribly original, parents searching for another way to convince little ones to go to sleep might give this one a try if for no other reason to share the pictures before bedtime. (Picture book. 3-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Banks and Hallensleben further develop the bedtime theme of <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">And If the Moon Could Talk and <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Night Worker, this time with the antics of a restless tiger cub. On a sunny midafternoon in a tropical forest, a mother tiger persuades her son to take a nap. "If I close my eyes, I can't see the sky," the mischievous tiger protests, in a portrait framed by the white page. "Yes you can.... You can even float among the clouds," his mother promises, as a fantasy spread pictures fluffy animal-shaped clouds and the little feline reclining in a half-moon; alternating full-bleed images like this one suggest the listener is relaxing into a dream. At last, the cub squeezes his eyes shut. "It's dark," he says. "Dark like your stripes," his mother observes. Banks styles the text as a give-and-take, while Hallensleben sets the jungle scene in impasto layers of sapphire, jade and aquamarine that complement the yellow-orange of the tigers' coats. Roughly hewn paintings depict the patient mother as a bona-fide predator, and her son as a cuddly fellow with bright black eyes, round ears and an upturned smile. Banks and Hallensleben conspicuously borrow the strategy of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's classic <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Runaway Bunny, which similarly toggles between reality and reverie, and likewise ends with the mother having the last word. At this book's satisfying close, the son falls asleep as his mother promises to be there when he wakes. Ages 3-6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

School Library Journal (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Toddler-PreS A little tiger's mama allays his fears of the dark and encourages him to go to sleep. "Dark is just the other side of light. It's what comes before dreams." She assures him that his dreams can be bold and adventurous and that she'll always be right at his side when he awakens. The soothing words and reassuring message and Hallensleben's splendid, painterly landscapes and dreamscapes create a lovely package to curl up to and revisit, nap after nap, night after night.