Amy the Dancing Bear

Book excerpt: Most of us can remember, as a child, not wanting to go to sleep, and parents everywhere will be reminded of coaxing their sleepless child to bed. In her first book for children, Carly Simon tells the story that she told her own children when they wouldn't go to sleep, and now she shares it with parents and children everywhere. It is evening, but Amy's bedroom is filled with light, and the smell of new-mown hay. The stars are twinkling, and bird song can be heard on the soft breeze. Amy feels so happy that she wants to dance, and pleads with her mother to let her stay up. How can she be refused? Amy dances on, pirouetting through the night mists, floating through arabesques as darkness falls, while her mother grows sleepier than her little daughter. In a satisfying twist, it is Amy's mother who falls asleep and Amy who puts her to bed. Margot Datz's attractive illustrations capture the magic of twilight and the swirling shadows of the coming darkness. This is a tale to enchant young children and adults alike.