OK, so here’s the deal, folks. If you pass a lady with a messy brown mummy-bun who resembles a zombie, there’s a strong possibility it’s me. I attribute this solely to my two sons…

Source: That book everyone was obsessed with for a hot second.

OK, so here’s the deal, folks. If you pass a lady with a messy brown mummy-bun who resembles a zombie, there’s a strong possibility it’s me. I attribute this solely to my two sons who seem to enjoy nothing more than torturing me through sleep deprivation. The only thing keeping me going right now is love, books and coffee. Probably mostly coffee.

Seriously, my boys are on staggered night shifts. One will keep me up one night, the next it’s the other tiny weapon of mass destruction. Because who doesn’t love talking about Hot Wheels Monster Jam at 3:30am in the morning? I know my toddler does because he does it pretty much EVERY OTHER NIGHT.

When Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin’s The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep first gained traction in social media, I decided the book was in a morally grey zone and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go there. Intrigued? Read on…

The birth of a baby and several hundred sleepless nights later and I decided I definitely wanted to go there. This book is, for lack of a better description, an attempt to hypnotise your child into a comforting and peaceful sleep. The story is bizarre and Ehrlin acknowledges that this is the case, but the point of the book is to get your sweet little dribblers to sleep, not to get their synapses firing.

The book sounds narrativey, to the extent that a child can sort of get lost in the words (if only to try and decipher what the heck they are hearing). Look, it’s weird and the idea feels wrong and the experience is strange. BUT! Desperate times call for desperate measures and I am absolutely desperate. My husband and I have tried this book a total of four times, and so far our toddler has fallen asleep twice when hearing it. It is important to note that at just under 3 years of age, my son is a little short of the mark in terms of the target demographic.

I can’t say I highly recommend this book based on the results, and I certainly don’t recommend it based on the jarring story. I do, however, encourage parents to try anything and everything legally possible to get their living, breathing, beautiful little night terrors to sleep and thus, if this is something that appeals to you, I say do it. For the sake of sanity, I judge ye not. You can purchase a copy at: http://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Wants-Asleep-Getting-Children/dp/149617951X

Author: Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin

Illustrator: Irina Maunhunen

Ages: Preschool – 2nd Grade

Publisher: Ladybird Books