Mabel and the Queen of Dreams

Mabel has a pretty special talent. She is able to come up with more excuses for avoiding bedtime than most children. Sure, she uses the usual “I’m thirsty,” “I have to pee,” but she also comes up with the clever “I’m too tangled to sleep.” It’s enough to get a story from Mom, the clear objective of Mabel. Mom has a lovely story to tell. There is a Faery queen, the Queen of the Fae, a magical wee people, and this queen visits young children as they sleep to color their dreams. She has a chariot made of a hazelnut shell and grasshopper wings built by an old beetle and pulled by a dragonfly. This charming story helps Mabel, and presumably children having the book read to them, off to a good night’s sleep.

Author Henry Herz and his two sons created the sweet text for this story that may well become a classic bedtime book. It is cleverly based on Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Lisa Woods completes the journey to sleepy time with enchanting illustrations in quiet colors that assist young readers in finding their way to sleep.