Fleming, Denise. Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. Henry Holt, 2010.

Denise Fleming's Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy uses shape and line to depict comforting images of mammals and their young throughout the animal kingdom at bedtime. Here, penguin parent and baby stand tall, nestled firmly on the flat ground while the sun sets behind them.

Doonan presents the ways in which linear emphases resemble emotions, including how the reader feels as a result of "the patterning of shapes" (27) in a picture. Shulevitz likewise emphasizes the emotional importance of shape, noting that a rectangle shape "stand[s] firmly, or grow[s] upward" (179). Here, the baby penguin forms a rectangular shape, as does, presumably, the parent, who bleeds off the top of the spread, together establishing a sense of stability on the page. Fleming further creates an understanding of security in the illustration by placing the parent's feet protectively under those of baby penguin and borrowing baby into parent's side.

Doonan suggests, “horizontal and vertical emphases suggest stability because we associate the feel of the solid ground beneath our feet, the sight of a figure standing upright and confident ... with the anchoring effect of gravitational pull” (27). In the image above, Fleming emphasizes the smooth, even horizon and draws attention to the circular sun setting over the rounded mountains behind the vertical height of the penguins. Each of the curved lines in the spread suggest calm.

Fleming uses a soft outline to differentiate penguin parent and baby. As Doonan explains, “[l]ine creates contour ... A contour puts a line round objects and figures and gives them their individuality” (23). In considering line, Shulevitz suggests evaluating its length, width, focus, and feeling (201). Here, Fleming's utilization of continuous light and soft line, which becomes bold while remaining delicate, completes the feeling of stability in the spread. The overall mood of the illustration is warm and fuzzy, notwithstanding the cold and frosty surroundings.

Works Cited

Doonan, Jane. Looking at Pictures in Picture Books. Thimble, 1993.

Fleming, Denise. Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. Henry Holt, 2010.

Shulevitz, Uri. Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. Watson Guptill, 1985.