Jeremiah and Mrs. Ming

Agnes C. Farrell is an elementary-school teacher in Richmond, British
Columbia.

Like most young children, Jeremiah tries to postpone going to sleep.
However, he doesn’t merely ask for another drink of water. He has a
long list of reasons why he can’t fall asleep. His books read their
stories aloud, his musical toys sing their songs, his pictures jump off
the walls, his piggy bank counts out its pennies, and his stuffed
animals have a tea party. His patient mother listens to his complaints
and solves all his problems until at last he falls asleep.

Young children will enjoy Jeremiah’s imaginative excuses and envy him
his versatile mother, who plays the accordion, does ballet, hammers
nails, reads the Financial Times, and bakes cookies as he is trying to
go to sleep. The story is simple and uses repetitive language, which
encourages children to join in reading it. It provides many
opportunities for discussions about reality and fantasy in comparing
Mrs. Ming’s activities with Jeremiah’s stories.

Levert’s colorful illustrations are full of interesting and amusing
details. Children will recognize Red Riding Hood, Babar, and the Three
Pigs in the pictures of Jeremiah’s books. This first book by Jennings
could become a favorite bedtime story for preschoolers.