Good Night Thoughts

Max Greenfield, the actor behind I Don't Want to Read This Book and its two companion titles, turns to a problem most children (and plenty of grown-ups) know well: lying awake while the mind refuses to switch off.

The child in this picture book can't fall asleep. Their thoughts keep cycling, some of them funny, some silly, some frightening, and none of them will stop on command. Nothing seems to slow the loop until the child starts asking a few plain questions. Do any of these thoughts have merit? Am I in any danger right here and now?

Those questions are what finally let the child settle. The book treats worry as something to notice and examine rather than something to fight or obey. It's a gentle, humorous look at anxiety and staying in the present moment, aimed at young readers and at anyone who finds that their thoughts weigh the most after the lights go out.