Z. Bailey-Harris

The Children's Book Review

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In No Night-Night, author Zena Bailey-Harris writes a simple story with a surprising twist: it is simultaneously translated into American Sign Language (ASL) through the use of ingenious illustrations.

This bedtime story opens with a young girl running in a beautiful field. Her hair is blowing in the wind and her trusty dog is by her side. She has had a wonderful day playing in the fresh air but now it is time to go to bed and she just doesn’t want to.

“I played all day. And part of the night.

I won’t go to bed now. No night-night.”

Our intrepid main character has stoically made her way through dinner and bath time, to the best of her ability. It is time for bed but she stubbornly refuses to sleep. Her patient and caring mother eventually convinces her that resting would be a good idea and she drifts off to dreamland in the warm and loving arms of her mom.

While the story itself is a sweet and simple way to end the day, the best part of this book is the expert way the author and illustrator have worked together to convey the words into sign language. Readers can easily comprehend and imitate the signs, adding another dimension to this charming and loveable story.

This clever book is sure to appeal to all readers as the heartwarming illustrations draw readers in and make the act of signing seem like such fun.