THE KING OF SLEEP Gilles Tibo Translated by Sheila Fischman Toronto, Doubleday Canada, 1991. 22pp, paper, $8.00 ISBN 0-385-25330-3. Available in French as Roi du sommeil. CIP Reviewed by Linda Holeman Volume 20 Number 3 May 1992 Using tactics similar to those in Santa Takes a Tumble (reviewed this issue), Tibo has written a story about an old-world character in a futuristic setting. The modern King of Sleep, known as King Roger 37 for his habit of sleeping for thirty-seven days in a row, lives in a kingdom of skyscrapers. Like most storybook kings, he wears a gold crown and rides on a majestic steed, but Roger has also been seen travelling on a motorcycle, complete with sunglasses and black leather jacket. When he's not attending picnics, Roger's other pastime is sleeping on a dilapidated, cobwebby throne. King Roger 37 is devastated when he awakens from a long sleep to find that everyone has left without him, for an interplanetary picnic, everyone except one irate sheep, who makes the king's life miserable until Roger lets the animal wear his crown. After rounds of bleated demands, the sheep finally falls asleep, and Roger happily drifts into a dreamy nap. He is roused from his reverie by dozens of multicoloured children who have flown in to have their interplanetary picnic on Roger's planet. It's the first time in his life King Roger 37 doesn't mind having a nap disturbed! This uncomplicated story is fun for the young child. Gilles Tibo has depicted the mild-mannered, rather simple king and the noisy, bossy sheep perfectly. His colourful, appealing illustrations of a "kinder, gentler world" that's somewhere out of this world are both fanciful and amusing. Kindergarten to Grade 2 / Ages 5 to 7 Linda Holeman, Winnipeg, Man.