PILLOW PLACES

Sleep comes and goes, but pillows are forever.

Two kids, one presenting White and one with brown skin and dark hair, spend a sleepover together. Initially they’re not quite sure what to do, but the couch they sit on provides the perfect answer. Pillows! Soon they’re running around the home gathering a wide array, as many as they can carry. Creative use of these cushions furnishes them with pretend spaceships and planets covered in lava. With pillows they can be knights with lances or pirates fighting plaid sea monsters. But soon exhaustion seeps in, and before you know it, “Pillow starlight” gives way to “Pillow sleep.” The rhyming wordplay is kept short and simple overall (“Pillow lifting. / Pillow piling. / Pillow building. / Pillow smiling”), making the star of the show the visual representation of the kids’ fantasies. As an added bonus, every imaginary world and being in this book is entirely constructed out of pillow fabric, from the ETs to the knights’ steeds. Children will love spotting the pet cat who joins in the play with surprising enthusiasm. Sleepover first-timers are sure to find pillowy comfort here. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Imagination and some comfy cushions save the day for sleepover enthusiasts everywhere.