The Perfect Spot To Sleep

Are you familiar with that moment when....your child could not fall asleep, when they would not fall asleep?  How do they finally find that comfortable slumber?  Where do they find that perfect place to rest their head?

My boys and I recently read about a Panda, a Panda named Chengdu.

Chengdu could not, would not fall asleep.  My boys turned each page of this book, waiting to see what position the panda bear would be in next, waiting to see if he would fall asleep in the bamboo grove with the other panda bears.  A simple scene at night, under the stars, and two dark eyes staring from the page, hanging in different positions from the bamboo.  There are even a few pages that open up in different ways, a surprise for this simple setting!  A twist at the end of the story gave everyone a chuckle in our house. 

Reading this story many times with a six and two year old was a breeze.  The repeating phrases made it easy for my six year old to predict and read, it was short enough for my two year old, and the pictures were pleasing for all of us.  

The story lead to discussions about bamboo, pandas, and favorite spots to sleep.  Incorporating these topics together, I set up an invitation to play with loose parts using rocks, cardboard tubing, and a little paint...

I painted pandas on both sides of each rock; one sleeping, and one awake.  They provided many counting opportunities, and retelling of the story.

Using river rocks make it easier to stack snuggling pandas.

They created homes by leaning, stacking, and standing different lengths of bamboo, all while finding the perfect spot to sleep for the pandas.

We even used our cardboard bamboo as a prompt to paint our own pandas.

We loved Barney Saltzberg's new book...and if you ask me, the perfect spot to sleep, is reading Chengdu could not, would not fall asleep. with your children in your arms.

*A complimentary copy of this book was provided to us for review. All opinions shared here are our own.  This post contains no affiliate links.*

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