BEDTIME BLESSING

A sweet bedtime book delivers the message of God’s love and care.

In gentle rhyming verses, Davies describes the transition from day to night, assuring readers that God is going to protect his charges, who cozily end their days with one last frolic, a snuggle, a purr, or a song. “Lambs play one last game / in the fading light, / Knowing He will guard them / closely through the night.” Davies’ God hears our prayers and smiles at kittens’ sleepy purrs. The birds—“He made each one unique”—sing his blessings before sleep. With a parent to watch over each, baby animals bed down for the night, the stars a reminder of God’s love. Unlike similar bedtime books, Davies and Macnaughton’s never makes the leap to a human child, though the pronouns “our” and “us” do appear in the text; the final page shows a hillside dotted with resting sheep: “Each of us is cherished, / from big to very small. / We are all His creatures— / God bless us one and all.” The only Bible verse quoted is from Numbers (“May the Lord bless and keep you…”), but the text also brings to mind the verse from Matthew 6 about the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, and not worrying, for God will provide. Macnaughton’s signature illustrations are soft, sweet, and peaceful, evoking the safety and love of a parent’s care for a child.

Reassuring and somnolent.