Like many children, Alice needs things to be just so before going to sleep at night. Bouncing on her bed, way past bedtime, Alice explains that she can sleep only in a blue room—blue is her favorite. Tricia Tusa’s cozy ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations show that Alice’s room is anything but blue, though. To soothe her, Mama brings Alice a vase of flowers with a gentle scent and a cup of warm tea, but still Alice needs blue. Tucked in with a silky-soft quilt, Alice’s request grows quieter as special lullaby bells are hung in the open window of her homey room. Surrounded by pale yellow walls and calmed by her mother’s kindness, Alice is almost ready for sleep. “The moon…Mama,” Alice murmurs. Mama whispers, “Here it comes.” In that moment, Alice’s bedside lamp is clicked off and the room is bathed in blue light. Nighttime has come, and the moon’s pale illumination emits a tranquil glow over Alice, who is now sound asleep in her blue room. Color-rich language grounds a loving look at a bedtime ritual that offers a comforting new view of “lights out.” Honor Book, 2009 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 3–6)

Alice is wide, wide awake. Mama brings flowers, tea, a quilt, even lullaby bells to help her sleep. But none of these things are blue, and Alice can sleep only in a blue room. Yet when the light goes out, a bit of magic is stirred up. Pale blue moonlight swirls into her bedroom window. Then the night swirls out, around the moon and into the universe, leaving Alice fast alseep in a most celestial blue room.