Sleep Tight, Platypup

Superbly illustrated in her distinctive style, the creator of gems like Wombat Big, Puggle Small, Ten Little Owls, Once I Heard a Wombat, One Very Tired Wombat and Colour for Curlews has designed another gentle story for young readers which not only introduces them to another of Australia’s unique creatures but also helps dispel fears they might have about the night – perhaps even offering human parents a strategy that could help their little ones. With its soft, gentle palette of purples portraying the night, rather than the more usual starkness of black, its sensitive text that reflects just how a mother would soothe a frightened child and its universal theme of a fear of the dark, this is a winner on so many levels.

Renee Treml is great at creating beautiful stories featuring animals, like wombats, owls and other creatures. They are simple and break down potentially big concepts into something that is easy for young children to understand. Her illustrations are gorgeous, too. A combination of washes of colour (shades of purples and blues that match the darkness of night) and black and white scratchboard drawings. If you need to help dispel fears in young children, especially the mysteries of the night, Sleep Tight, Platypup is a really good place to start.

This is a sweet bedtime book about conquering fear of the dark . . . The illustrations are simple but warm and emotional, effectively depicting movement, sound and the calm of night. This will be very useful with children who do have a fear of the dark, but is a beautiful bedtime story for any young child.

Renée Treml is a beautiful storyteller and illustrators whose books will immediately capture the attention of readers of all ages thanks to her command over colour, stroke/line work and the gentle caress of her story . . . Sleep Tight, Platypup is a beautiful nod to one of Australia’s most recognisable, but misrepresented animals, the platypus. Although uniquely Australian in setting, voice and style, this picture book has greater appeal world wide thanks to the universal fear of the dark and unknown, making it one of the most unique and special picture books on the market right now.

Much acclaimed author/illustrator of numerous Australian baby animal books, Treml explores a child’s fear of the dark through the experiences of Platypup and his mother . . . A quiet calming book to soothe night fears as the reader learns about the habitat of one of Australia’s most loved creatures. Beautifully soft glowing background colours surround the pair etched in detailed scraperboard line, each fine hair delicately drawn in reversed out white on black.

I always find something entirely magical about Renee’s books. Both her text and her illustrations are equally charming and so beautifully suited to little readers…For little humans who are still nervous of night time this is a perfect book to share – and talk about of course.