Jake Stays Awake
Written and illustrated by Michael Wright
Feiwel & Friends; $16.95
40 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-0312367978

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

It's a dilemma experienced by kids far and wide -- why would you sleep in your own bed alone when you can sleep with mom and dad in theirs? And so it is with young Jake, who resolves not to go to bed at night -- at all -- unless it's in his parents' bed. Jake's mom and dad try and try to resist, but ultimately, if only to just get some sleep, they give in. And so another night passes with Jake sleeping and his parents not. Sounding strangely familiar yet?

One night, when they've had enough of arms and legs poking them all night long, Jake's parents turn the tables on him. They'll be happy to let him sleep with them, just not in their bed anymore. Where does Jake want to sleep? The book takes a comic turn as the family makes an attempt to sleep in all kinds of out of the way places suggested by Jake, not limited to the roof, the bathtub, and the car. Their nocturnal adventures culminate in an epiphany Jake has, one that has both Jake and his parents sleeping soundly from that night onward.

Michael Wright, an advertising copywriter and art director, has captured perfectly both parents' and kids' perspectives on good nights' sleep. With understanding and gentle humor, he conveys the parents' frustration while they wisely empower Jake to grow up a little on his own, on his own schedule. The rhyming text is well-done; it's smooth and funny, matching the humorous illustrations that have Jake and his parents squeezed into the bathtub or sprawled out on the kitchen counters.

The writing has a good, catchy pace and keeps young readers interested while the funny places Jake and his family try to get some sleep lighten the subject, one that may be a contentious one in families where parents and kids don't agree on the best place for everyone to sleep at night. With Jake Stays Awake, Wright introduces the idea of it being okay not to sleep in mom and dad's bed in a nonconfrontational way, using humor to warm kids up to the idea (and maybe give mom and dad a glimmer of hope, too!).

While it may not keep your kids from trying to climb into your bed at night, this great story will at least get all of you laughing about it.