Review: Princess Stay Awake

It’s time for bed, but Princess Layla isn’t ready to go to sleep. The tired King and Queen try everything to get Layla to rest, but nothing works. Wizard Wilf’s sleeping spell backfires, Sir Runsalot runs out of energy before Layla does and even a new comfy bed doesn’t work (although it does make a great trampoline). Who can the King and Queen turn to for help?

It isn’t until wise Grandma arrives with a little reverse psychology that Princess Layla’s eyelids start to get droopy. As always, it seems that Grandma knows best.

This bedtime tale will seem familiar to those parents who have energetic toddlers who resist as soon as they hear the word ‘nap’ or ‘bedtime’. Princess Layla is a bundle of energy who shows no sign of slowing down, even though everyone else in the castle is exhausted and can’t wait to go to bed.

A delightful bedtime story for little ones, Princess Stay Awake combines a fun rhyming text with bright, colourful illustrations sure to appeal to toddlers and preschoolers, who will hopefully follow Princess Layla’s example and curl up in bed asleep by the end of the story.

Title: Princess Stay Awake
Author: Giles Paley-Phillips
Illustrator: Adriana J. Puglisi
Publisher: Maverick Arts Publishing, $23.99 RRP
Publication Date:  January 2014
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 9781848861091
For ages: 2 - 6
Type: Picture Book