This week, I buckled down for my grueling (but delightful) annual roundup of the year’s best children’s and picture books. I’ve also been spending lots of time with a certain owl-loving friend and sleeping very little. The confluence of these reminded me of a lovely 2009 children’s book titled A Book of Sleep — the American debut of Korean illustrator Il Sung Na, whose beautifully textured drawings tell the poetic, quiet story of creatures going to rest.

When the sky grows dark
and the moon glows bright,
everyone goes to sleep . . .
except for the watchful owl!”

A delight for the wee ones, A Book of Sleep is also the charming, earnest, snark-free parallel to Goodnight iPad, extending a gentle reminder for us grown-ups to close our eyes, unplug, and surrender to the quiet.